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Sunset Memories 



BY 



REV. NICHOLAS VANSANT 

If 

OF THE NEWARK ANNUAL CONFERENCE 

Author of "The Life and Character of Rev. H. Mattison, D.D. 
"Rachel Weeping for her Children," "Entire Holiness," etc. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
By GENERAL JAMES F. RUSLING 




NEW YORK: EATON* & MAINS 
CINCINNATI: CURTS & JENNINGS 



TWO COPIES RECEIVED- 



or comghess 

WAfl UMCTON 



*J& 



4428 



Copyright by 

EATON & MAINS, 

1896. 




Composition, electrot} r ping, 

printing, and binding by 

Eaton & Mains, 

150 Fifth Ave., New York. 



PREFACE 



ft /I ANY surprises have come to me during my busy 
life. Not the least among them is the double 
surprise of having lived so long, and of having passed 
my fifty-first* milestone of unbroken service in the regu- 
lar active work of the ministry; to which there now 
comes the added and greater surprise of boldness to ad- 
venture the writing of this book, thus reversing, even in 
a timid nature, the ancient law that old age is "afraid 
of that which is high." 

Not that I am altogether a novice in authorship ; but 
the project of preparing this larger and more personal 
volume required far greater courage than any previous 
attempt in that line. Yet for this undertaking there 
came to me a conscious warrant in the thought that my 
life and ministry had been so interwoven with the his- 
tory of the Methodist Episcopal Church, especially those 
portions of it represented by the Philadelphia, New 
Jersey, and Newark Conferences, that much of what I 
should write would of necessity possess far more than a 
mere local and personal interest. 

This volume covers a period of seventy years in Metho- 
dist history, than which no other is of greater interest 
and importance — a period in which the Church has had 
her severest trials and her grandest triumphs. The au- 
thor, in memory, goes back to the troublous times of 



6 Preface. 

1830, when, under the chief leadership of Nicholas 
Snethen, Asa Shinn, and Alexander McCaine, the Meth- 
odist Protestant Church was organized in Baltimore, 
Md., and especially to the disturbing excitement which, 
in the few following years, swept over the region of his 
childhood home. In 1843 came the formation, at Utica, 
N. Y., of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection, led by 
that wonderful man, Orange Scott, with La Roy Sun- 
derland, Luther Lee, and others, who, in their intense 
opposition to slavery, withdrew from the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, on the ground of its undue conserva- 
tism. These names became familiar to me in my early 
ministry. Then followed apace the more serious troubles 
of 1844, issuing in the organization of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, with 450,000 communicants, 
based on adherence to the system of Southern slavery, 
and a subsequent division of the Book Concern, accord- 
ing to the ratio of traveling preachers in the two bodies. 
In the exciting Supreme Court trial it became my priv- 
ilege to hear that distinguished pleader, the magnetic 
and eloquent Rufus Choate. 

" Man proposes, but God disposes." The war of 
1861-65, backed by the General Conference of 1864, 
effectually destroyed slavery in both the Church and the 
nation. The action of that Conference on this and other 
important subjects is told in the book. In 1866 the 
Freedmen's Aid Society was organized, the Board of 
Education in 1868, the Woman's Foreign Missionary 
Society in 1870, followed by the Woman's Home Mis- 
sionary Society, the Epworth League organization, the. 
Deaconess movement, etc. Thus the old historic 



Preface. 7 

Church of 1784 has successfully braved many a storm, 
and is still moving forward with unabated courage and 
hope in her career of ever-increasing prosperity. 

It is hoped that the title, Sunset Memories, will com- 
mend itself to the reader as at once appropriate and 
euphonious. With no other book bearing the same or a 
similar title within our knowledge, it possesses at least 
the merit of freshness. Not less than six hundred names 
of ministers, laymen, and friends are scattered through 
the book, the favorable mention of which, it is believed, 
will give pleasure to many readers. 

This unpretentious volume is sent forth in humble de- 
pendence upon Him who is the supreme Master Builder, 
without whose blessing it must everywhere and always 
be true that "they labor in vain that build. " 

Madison, N. J., April 28, 1896. N. V. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface. Introduction. 

PART I. 
Thl: Family. 

Chapter Page 

I. Family Name, ..... 15-19 

II. Parents, ...... 20-33 

III. Brothers and Sisters : John W., 34 ; Joel, 36 ; 
James, 38 ; Rebecca, 41; Samuel, 44; Nicho- 
las, 50; Nathaniel D., 51 ; Mary A., 53 ; Isaac N.,53, 34-56 

PART II. 

Personal Life and Ministry. 

I. A Notable Birthplace — Almost, . . . 59-61 

II. Some Incidents of Boyhood : Protection and Es- 
cape, 62 ; A Solitary Combat, 65 ; Early School 
Days, 66 ; Sunday School Life, 63, . . 62-71 

III. Conversion and What Followed, 72 ; Various Re- 

sults, 74 ; Further Camp Meeting Experiences, 77, 72-82 

IV. Semicentennial Address, .... §3-94 

PART III. 

Chronological Glimpses of Pastoral Charges and Work : Med- 
ford, 97 ; Freehold, 99 ; Paterson, 105 ; Dover and Millbrook, 108; 
Madison, no; Bloomfield, 119; Woodrow, S. I., 121; Belle- 
ville, N. J., 125; New Brunswick, 129; Bridgeton, 137; Trin- 
ity, S. I., 144 ; Haverstraw, N. V., 14S ; Newark, N. J., Clinton 
Street, 151; Rahway, First Church, 156; Bethel, S. I., 157; 
Jersey City District, 160 ; Washington, N. J., 166 ; Newton 
District, 167 ; Newark, Trinity, 171 ; Elizabeth, Fulton Street, 173; 
Trinity, S. L, 176; New Providence, N. J., 179; Chatham, 186; 
Port Oram, 1S9; St. John's, S. I., 191, . . 97-194 



10 Contents 



PART IV. 



Memories of New Jersey and Newark Conferences : New Jersey 
Conference, 197; Newark Conference, 199; In Memoriam, 200; 
J. R. Adams, 237 ; B. Andrew, 230 ; S. Armstrong, 205 ; R. S 
Arndt, 245 ; J. Ayars^ 219 ; O. Badgeley, 207 ; G. Banghart, 210: 
D. W. Bartine, 222 ; C. H. Bassett, 250 ; A. H. Belles, 239 ; J 
D. Blain, 218; H. Boehm, 216; A. L. Brice, 245: A. H 
Brown, 246 ; J. K. Burr, 223 ; W. M. Burroughs, 205 ; W. Bur 
rows, 210; T. T. Campfield, 229; J. F. Canfield, 248; G. O 
Carmichael, 213; I. B. Carmichael, 201 ; C. Clark, Sr. , 235 ; J.S 
Coit, 208 ; I, W. Cole, 243 ; A. S. Compton, 241 ; A. Cook- 
man, 213 ; J. N. Crane, 243 ; J. T. Crane, 219 ; I. Cross, 227 
J. P. Dailey, 225 ; J. IT. Dandy, 224 ; R. L. Dashiell, 220 ; B 
Day, 240; E. A. Day, 227; P. D. Day, 236; W. Day, 249; S. W 
Decker, 226; W. H. Dickerson, 220; M. E. Ellison, 223; J 
Faull, 231; I. N. Felch, 217; M. Force, 204; J. P. Fort, 247 
D. Graves, 229; E. M. Griffith, 226; L. G. Griffith, 254; J.Han 
Ion, 215; M. Heir, 249; S. W. Hilliard, 213; T. H. Jacobus, 248 
B. Kelley, 214; J. N. Keys, 232; J. L. Lenhart, 205; C. A. Lip 
pincott, 2T2; W. M. Lippincott, 206; H. Littz, 253; F. Lum- 
mis, 222; N. A. Macnichol, 252; J. B. Mathis, 242; H. Matti- 
son, 209; T. McCarroll, 203; J. McClintock, 211; C. May- 
bury, 241; S. Y. Monroe, 207; W. C. Nelson, 207; S. H. Op- 
dyke, 221; T. W. Pearson, 203; J. S. Porter, 239; D. F. 
Reed, 204; W. Robertson, 206; J. O. Rogers, 231; J. H. Run- 
yon, 234; S. K. Russell, 225; J. Scarlett, 236; J. K. Shaw, 202; 

B. F. Simpson, 212; T. H. Smith, 244; C. R. Snyder, 251; W. 
Stikeman, 209; T. H. Stockton, 244; J. S. Swaim, 216; H. T rum- 
bower, 210; W. Tunison, 234; J. M. Tuttle, 233; C. S. Van- 
cleve, 237; R. Vansyckle, 208; W. W. Voorhees, 238; T. Wal- 
ters, 219; B. Weed, 218; G. W. White, 206; W. G. Wig- 
gins, 233; R. Winans, 224; J. O. Winner, 254; G. Winsor, 228; 

C. A. Wombough, 252; R. B. Yard, 215, 201-255 

PART V. 
Supernumerary Experiences and Review Supplemental, 259-270 



INTRODUCTION 



I THINK this little volume unique and charming in 
its way, of singular and abiding interest, and beg 
to solicit for it a wide circle of readers. It is both bio- 
graphical and historical, and a choice bit of both biog- 
raphy and history. It is a brief history of a New Jersey 
family of sterling life and character, that began life down 
in the Jersey " Pines " a century or so ago, and now con- 
sists of over two hundred descendants, not one of whom 
has become a pauper or a criminal, or a drunkard even, 
but all of whom have added to the honor, the pros- 
perity, and the wealth of the State, and bid fair to do 
so yet for long years to come. 

Of the seven sons, six became ministers of the Gos- 
pel — two in the Newark Conference, two in the New 
Jersey Conference, and two local preachers- — all of them 
men of integrity and honor. And it gives me rare pleas- 
ure to hold up the senior Nicholas Vansant and his 
Methodist family, of Lower Bank, Burlington County, 
N. J., as the natural fruit and logical result of the 
Church and the Sunday school, and as a model to 
America and to mankind. These are the stuff of which 
commonwealths are made and empires are butlded if 
they are to stand long; and would that our Republic 
had more of such sturdy and honest stock ! This little 
book reveals their home life — shows how they began 



12 Introduction. 

and grew, and how afterward they broadened out into 
eminent and successful ministers and distinguished and 
useful citizens, and gives glimpses of American life and 
character that cannot fail to be helpful and inspiring to 
every reader. I bid it hail and Godspeed ! And may 
its author survive long before he reaches his own " Sun- 
set ! " James F. Rusling. 

Trenton, N. J., April 24, 1896. 



PART I. 

THE FAMILY 



Sunset Memories. 



CHAPTER I 
Family Name* 



CONCERNING the family name, Vansant, there has 
been no little perplexity. For many years the 
impression was that, at some time and lor some reason 
to us unknown, the old Holland name; Van zandt, had 
been changed by dropping out the d and substituting s 
for z; but a careful examination several years ago satis- 
fied me that this theory was incorrect, and that our 
long-standing mode of spelling the name agrees more 
nearly than any other with the original form. 

Making a search in the county clerk's office of Rich- 
mond County, N. Y., in 1879, I found a deed, dated 
May 2, 1706, the fifth year of the reign of Queen Anne, 
of England, conveying land to Aries Jansen by Stoffel 
and Rachel Vansant, the last name of each of the 
grantors being spelled as here written, without the z or 
the d. The search was made by request of George H. 
Vanzandt, of Philadelphia, counselor at law, who had 
been giving diligent attention to the subject of his own 
family pedigree, and incidentally of ours. From him I 
learned many interesting facts, some of which are given 
in the following extracts from his correspondence: 

"I am engaged in looking up the genealogy of some 
members of the Vanzandt family — those descended from 
Stophel Vanzandt, formerly of Port Richmond, Staten 



16 Sunset Memories. 

Island, who settled there about 1680, and afterward re- 
moved to Bucks County, Pa., where for some time he 
was a trustee of Bensalem Presbyterian Church. ... I 
suppose we have the same common ancestor. We have 
traced matters back to Staten Island. Rev. Dr. Brown- 
lee, of the Reformed Dutch Church, of Port Richmond, 
writes that Stophel Vanzant had his son Stophel bap- 
tized October 22, 1701, and his daughter Sophia in 
1706; so it appears on the records of the church." 

Here we must pause to note this medley of names re- 
lating to the same persons — in my correspondent's let- 
ter Vanzandt, in the baptismal record Vanzant, but in 
the deed of conveyance Vansant'. Do these variations 
seem strange? Especially, do they invalidate the his- 
torical facts related? No one is stupid enough to hold 
this. These discrepancies in the orthography of proper 
names, as in hundreds of other things, are constantly 
occurring. Talk of various readings in the ancient 
manuscripts of the Bible! Other old writings of re- 
nown reveal even greater variations; but they are not 
rejected as spurious on this account, nor must the Bible 
be thrust aside because of its various readings or its 
apparent discrepancies. Was Stophel Vansant a myth 
because his name was spelled in several different ways? 
Not at all, but a veritable man, who lived and moved 
and had his being at the close of the seventeenth cen- 
tury and beginning of the eighteenth. 

Now we turn again to the correspondence concerning 
him: K 

" Note particularly from whence he came, which I sup- 
pose to be either Xanten, in Germany, where the fam- 
ily became Huguenots, or, previous to that, from San- 
tona, on the Bay of Biscay, in the north of Spain, where 
I suppose they were good Catholics. . . . He imported 
from Holland the bricks of which his house was built. 



The Family. 17 

. . . The Vanzandts in the old deeds of Bucks County 
spell their name as above written. The family were 
originally Spaniards and Catholics of Santona (Eugenie's 
watering place on the Bay of Biscay in the north of 
Spain), and I suppose spelled their name either Santon 
or Santona, that town having been either named after 
them or they having taken their name from the town. 
Near it is also the town of Santander, which is also the 
name of a province in Spain. In Holland, in Groningen, 
is a town called 't Zand; in Prussia (Westphalia),. just 
below Wesel, is the town of Xanten ; and in Drenthe, 
Holland, is the town of Zandberg. I may also say that 
in Texas is a county named Van Zandt, after a cousin 
of my father's, who negotiated or made the treaty for 
the admission of Texas into the Union." 

He continues: 

'The Vansants, Santons, or Santonas went up with 
Alva or Parma into the Netherlands to persecute the 
Dutch. They were people of some consequence, who 
gave name to one province and two towns in Spain, 
three towms in Holland, and one county in the United 
States. Settling in Holland, they married Dutch Hu- 
guenot wives, became Huguenots themselves, and as 
such settled on Staten Island. Those who prefer the 
Spanish form spell their name Sant, or Santen, or San- 
ton ; those who prefer the Dutch or German, as I always 
have, take the Dutch form. Van or von is a title of dis- 
tinction in Germany." 

From these interesting statements, the fruit doubtless 
of much careful research, it seems plain enough that: 
tli is old family name, however spelled or whatever its 
Dutch modifications or accretions, had a genuine Span- 
ish origin. Of this fact, indeed, no Protestant bearing 
the name can ever feel proud, especially when he recol- 
lects that only four centuries ago Spain was the chief 



18 Sunset Memories. 

center of that consummate iniquity of the Romish 
Church, the Inquisition. 

But, amid all the dark chapters of Spanish history, 
there shines out that one luminous page, the brightness 
of which can never be dimmed — the page which bears 
the illustrious name of Christopher Columbus. Not 
being a native of Spain, but of Genoa, in Italy, it must 
all the more stand to the credit of Spain that Colum- 
bus, after having applied to various courts without avail 
during long years of disappointment and waiting, was 
enabled to prosecute his coveted work of discovery un- 
der the auspices of Ferdinand and Isabella, of Spain, 
" though the honor of having aided the great navigator 
belongs, not to Ferdinand, but to Isabella, a woman of 
remarkable energy and talent, and possessed of no in- 
considerable beauty and much winning grace." The 
late and great Columbian Fair at Chicago has made our 
own country and, indeed, the civilized world familiar 
with Columbian and Spanish history as never before. 
Henceforward we can scarcely think of this vast Amer- 
ican continent without also thinking of its renowned 
discoverer and his queenly patroness. 

Doubtless our family name has come to stay; and so 
we will neither regretfully deplore it nor vainly boast of 
it, whatever maybe its true orthography or its real etymol- 
ogy. I must, however, express a cordial sympathy with 
my Philadelphia correspondent in his decided preference 
for the Dutch form of spelling, since our family prefer- 
ence is at least equally decided in favor of the Spanish 
form. 

Incidentally, this has sometimes proved an agreeable 
service, as when, several years since, a son of the writer 
went to Baltimore, Md., an almost total stranger, to en- 
gage in mercantile business. One of the old and hon- 
ored residents of that city was Joshua Vansant, who 



The Family. 19 

once or oftener had served as mayor, and who for many 
years had held the office of city comptroller, in which, 
by his proverbial economy, carefulness, and honesty, he 
had won the odd but honorable sobriquet, "watchdog 
of the city treasury." The young stranger, bearing his 
exact family name, though not at all related, soon found 
an answer to the question, " What's in a name? " for his 
own had become so well and favorably known in busi- 
ness circles through that long-trusted citizen as to be- 
come substantially helpful to him in winning an honest 
success. 



20 Sunset Memories. 



CHAPTER II. 
Parents* 

ft A Y father's Christian name was Nicholas. But 
* * * whether he was so called in honor of 'any one of 
the five Roman pontiffs bearing that name, or of the 
highly popular St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who for 
more than fourteen centuries has been regarded in Cath- 
olic countries as the especial patron of the young and 
whose Christmas fame has become so world-wide, I have 
no certain means of determining; but we are quite con- 
tent to believe that it had no popish origin. 

When a very small boy I fancied that he might have 
taken his name from the august Nicholas I, Emperor of 
Russia. But as I became better acquainted with his- 
tory I found this fancy quite exploded by the fact that 
the emperor was not born until some years after my 
father, to which w 7 as added, by way of " cumulative ev- 
idence," the further fact that Nicholas I did not succeed 
to the Russian throne until December, 1825, previous to 
which his name and his fame could have been but little 
known in American homes ; and at that date my father 
was approaching middle life! 

One other conjecture remains. As he and my mother 
gave scripture names to all of their eleven children, so 
his parents, who were reverent believers in the Bible, 
may have adopted for him the name of one of the seven 
deacons at Jerusalem, the slight difference in the orthog- 
raphy — Nicolas and Nicholas — being due to the fact that 
the one, in derivation and form, is Latin, and the other 
Greek.. According to Webster, the two names are iden- 
tical in their heroic signification — "victory of the people." 



The Family. 21 

This name has been greatly aspersed by the allegation that 
the wise and good deacon of Acts vi, 5, fell from grace, 
and became founder of the corrupt sect of Nicolaitans 
so strongly condemned in Rev. ii, 6, 15. The decided 
weight of opinion, logic, and probability among the com- 
mentators seems to be against this damaging assumption. 

There is another name in which I feel a deep and 
tender interest — that of our mother ; an unusual name, 
though not an unusual word. It occurs in the Bible 
two hundred and seventy-two times, and is a soft, gen- 
tle, tender word of two syllables — " Mercy." 

Never did a woman's name give more fitting expres- 
sion to character than did this name of our mother. A 
plain, practical woman, of large common sense, with a 
heart and life sanctified by grace, she was a mother to 
be respected, esteemed, and loved. 

Both she and father had become Christians and mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church before their 
marriage, which occurred December 23, 1808, a mar- 
riage followed by their happy, loving union as husband 
and wife for more than seventy years, each of them 
dying at last in the ninety-first year of life — the date of 
his birth being November 9, 1788, and that of his death 
March 6, 1879, her birth occurring March 13, 1789, and 
her death January 8, 1880. Thus beginning and clos- 
ing life but a few months apart, the legacy they left be- 
hind them, though small in earthly treasure, was great 
in purity of character, in fervor of piety, in chasteness 
of conversation, in frugal industry of habits, in consist- 
ency of Christian deportment, and in a calm, unfalter- 
ing, holy trust in death. 

ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE OF FATHER. 

His forefathers came from Amsterdam, Holland, and 
settled on the Delaware River above Philadelphia, 



22 Sunset Memories. 

at a place called Shamony, which is described in the 
early editions of Lippincott's Gazetteers " a post office of 
Burlington County, N. J.," though the name was long 
since superseded, no doubt, by another for the same 
place. From there his grandfather removed to New 
England, where his father was born, and, on arriving at 
manhood, married. His father's earlier years were 
spent in following the sea, and often making long voy- 
ages to foreign ports; but at length he came to New 
Jersey and settled at ''The Forks " on Mullica River, 
Gloucester, now Atlantic, County, and engaged in ves- 
sel building. He also owned a place at New Columbia, 
a few miles above, where a part of the time he resided. 
It was here that his youngest child was born and took 
the name Nicholas. Father, in making this state- 
ment to me as he lay in bed, remarked, " This, I sup- 
pose, is the very bedstead upon which I was laid for the 
first time," showing with what care that article of furni- 
ture had been preserved as a family heirloom. 

To the teachings of li is mother he chiefly owed his 
early religious impressions, though she at that time was 
not a professing Christian. She often told him of the 
preaching of David Brainerd, and taught him the doc- 
trine of future rewards and punishments, which made a 
deep impression on his young mind. Nor was this labor 
lost, either as to him or herself, his early conversion 
being followed not long after by her own, which was 
brought about in no small degree through his instru- 
mentality, as the following incident will show. Being 
greatly burdened for his mother he made her conver- 
sion a subject of special and earnest prayer. Religious 
service was then held in the neighborhood on a certain 
day of the week ; and while on his way to the meeting 
he turned aside in the woods, where he spent a consid- 
erable time in prayer for the object that lay nearest his 



The Family. 23 

heart. Before he arose lie felt an assurance that his 
prayer was heard and would speedily be answered. 
Shortly after the service began the words of the 
preacher found way to her heart, and she cried out for 
mercy under her keen convictions. Soon her mourn- 
ing was turned to rejoicing, and, though she had always 
been very much opposed to shouting, as also to class 
meetings, she praised God aloud, and thenceforward be- 
came a regular, happy attendant upon the means of 
grace, which hitherto she had so much despised. 

When he was about three years of age his parents 
had removed to Bass River, now New Gretna, Burling- 
ton County, which a few years later became his spiritual 
birthplace, and subsequently the scene of his mother's 
conversion as just narrated. Here as he grew up he 
devoted himself to farming, applying his wages to the 
support of his parents, the father having become too 
old and infirm to continue the business of his trade. 
Though the son was but little more than twelve at his 
conversion and gave promise of great stability and use- 
fulness, taking delight in all the means of grace, and 
especially in reading and studying the hymn book of 
the Church, yet at length, strangely enough, his religious 
zeal declined and he lapsed into a cold, backslidden 
state, but without falling into gross outward sins. 
Happily at the age of eighteen he was renewed, from 
which time, forgetting the things that were behind 
and reaching forth to those which were before, he 
steadily pressed forward during all the years that fol- 
lowed toward the goal of eternal life. 

In 1 814, at the age of twenty-six, he went out to 
serve in the war with Great Britain, and was stationed 
at Cape May awaiting orders ; but after remaining there 
a few months he was allowed to hire a substitute, with 
the understanding that his own name should be con- 



24 Sunset Memories. 

tinued on the roll and his substitute answer to it. Not 
long after he began to devote himself to his father's 
business as a shipwright, in the active prosecution of 
which he continued well nigh half a century. When, 
several years' ago, Congress enacted a law providing 
for the payment of pensions to the few remaining sol- 
diers of the war of 1812 father's name became entered 
upon the pension roll, and thenceforward to the close of 
his life he was a grateful recipient of the annual allow- 
ance thus provided for. 

SUMMARY OF LATER LIFE AND CHARACTER. 

The summary that follows was prepared by the writer 
soon after father's death, and is here given without es- 
sential change or alteration. 

The Rev. Nicholas Vansant, Sr., was born at New 
Columbia, near Pleasant Mills, Atlantic, then Gloucester, 
County, N. J., November 9, 1788, and died at Lower 
Bank, Burlington County, N. J., March 6, 1879, having 
attained the venerable age of ninety years and four 
months, less three days. He was connected with a 
long-lived family, his father and mother, with several of 
his brothers and sisters, having died at a greatly ad- 
vanced age. He united with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church when about eighteen, so that his entire mem- 
bership in the Church covered a period of over seventy- 
two years. , 

The exact time when he was licensed as an exhorter 
is not known, nor is the precise date of his first local 
preacher's license at hand; but his ordination parch- 
ment shows that he was ordained a local deacon by 
Bishop Hedding April 17, 1831, which office he filled 
with great acceptability and usefulness for nearly forty- 
eight years. ' ! 

The number of marriages solemnized by him during 



The Family. 25 

this period was two hundred and twenty-seven, as ap- 
pears from his carefully preserved records. 

The last baptism administered by him took place at 
a camp meeting held near Green Bank in July, 1877, the 
subject being a grandchild of his greatly esteemed 
friend and fellow-laborer in the local ministry, the Hon. 
Joel Haywood. He w r as too nearly blind to perform 
the whole service; but, others having read the pre- 
scribed ritual, he applied the water in the name of the 
Holy Trinity, his hand being guided to the tender in- 
fant's head by the hand of one of his sons. It was a 
beautiful and touching scene. 

He lived, not only to see all his children and many of 
his children's children converted and members of the 
same Church with himself, but was also blessed in hav- 
ing four of his sons enter the itinerant ministry, another 
son licensed as a local preacher, a sixth honored with a 
local preacher's ordination, and the seventh intrusted 
with various official positions in the Church. 

The following may be mentioned as among the lead- 
ing traits of his character : 

1. He was a man of great energy and perseverance in 
his business relations. For many years he prosecuted 
the work of vessel building with great success, and not 
a few of those who came after him in the same business 
were largely indebted to his knowledge and skill for 
their later success. 

2. He was an ardent lover and a devout student of 
the Bible. His habit was to read some portion of it 
every day; nor did he lose his interest in it after he 
had become too blind to read it with his own eyes. 
His beloved wife, whose sight yet remained good, con- 
tinued his long established habit by reading a chapter 
or more every morning and evening in connection with 
their family worship. And so well stored had his mind 



26 Sunset Memories. 

become with its precious truths that he was often heard 
reciting large portions of it to himself, or for the con- 
venience and help of some of the grandchildren living 
near, who not unfrequently applied to him for aid in the 
preparation of their Sunday school lessons. 

3. He was eminently faithful in his attendance upon 
the public and social means of grace. The preaching of 
the word, the prayer service, and the class meeting were 
sure of his presence unless some providential hindrance 
prevented, /ind after his sight had become too dim for 
him to go alone, his form still remaining erect, he would 
cheerily say to his faithful wife, as with bent form she 
led him along, "You can be eyes to nie, and I will be a 
staff to you." 

4. His strict attention to family worship, already 
hinted at, needs to be emphasized. Not only were his 
nine children as they grew up required to be present, 
but during the long years in which he carried on his 
business extensively, employing large numbers of work- 
men and apprentices, he made it a fixed rule that all 
who expected to eat at his table should attend the family 
devotions, which always preceded the morning meal. 

5. He attached great importance to the duty of secret 
prayer. Besides maintaining a constant spirit of prayer, 
he had his stated seasons of private devotion, which he 
observed with great regularity day by day, not allowing 
business or visitors or aught else to rob him of this en- 
joyment. Among his special subjects of prayer were his 
own children, for each of whom he statedly prayed by 
name. 

6. He was eminently loyal to the doctrines and Disci- 
pline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, The long 
line of pastors in the localities where he lived found in 
him a true friend and fellow-helper. Though most un- 
obtrusive in spirit and manner, he was always ready to 



The Family. 27 

perform official duty whenever calkd upon by his pastors 
or brethren. He was quick to notice the least deviation 
from strict orthodoxy in the pulpit, and with great mod- 
esty and gentleness would seek to correct it. 

7. He was remarkable for his progressiveness. Old 
age brought not with it to him a sour, complaining spirit, 
as is too often the case. On the contrary, he kept 
abreast of the times as they advanced, readily accepting 
all needful changes and improvements in the Church 
and the community, never saying in a spirit of discon- 
tent or fault-finding, fc ' The former days were better than 
these." His interest in new books from our great pub- 
lishing house, and especially in 77ie CJuistian Advocate, 
which he took from its beginning, continued without 
abatement to the last. Well do his older children re- 
member with what enthusiasm he became a subscriber 
for Clarke's Commentary, which was first issued in num- 
bers, and afterward grew into six stout volumes, these 
becoming supplemented at length by Benson's Commen- 
tary. Words can scarcely express his exalted estimate 
of these great companion works. And even near the 
close of his extended life there was not a more enthusi- 
astic admirer of Bishop Simpson's Yale Lectures than he, 
who was a hearer of them as they were read to him by 
others. 

8. As a preacher he was not only concise and clear in 
his statements of scripture truth, but unusually apt in his 
illustrations, preaching at times with great power. With- 
out the culture of the schools, he was pronounced by 
cultured hearers a natural orator. His unswerving 
fidelity in the pulpit, as elsewhere, was honored by the 
great Head of the Church with many seals to his minis- 
try. 

9. His record as an advocate of the temperance reform 
was one of rare labors and successes. When, in 1841, 



28 Sunset Memories. 

he settled at Lower Bank it cost not a little to stand up 
against the desolating march of intemperance; yet he 
did it most heroically amid sneers and scoffs and threat- 
ened violence, nor was it in vain. Then not less than 
six or seven licensed hotels were in full operation in the 
old township of Washington, whereas at the time of my 
latest information (1879) there was not to be found in 
the same territory more than one such place, and not 
even one in the new township of Randolph, within the 
bounds of which he lived and died. A similar record 
had been made by him in the neighborhood of Port Re- 
public, Atlantic County, where he resided about eighteen 
years before removing to another county. He practiced 
and advocated the total abstinence principle there at a 
time when he was obliged to stand almost alone. But 
the seed then and afterward sown has yielded a rich 
harvest of blessed results. According to our best infor- 
mation not a licensed or unlicensed place exists in all 
that neighborhood where intoxicating drink is sold. 

10. His final sickness, was of short duration, continu- 
ing but four or five days. He was thus mercifully pre- 
served from a long season of suffering. To this, how- 
ever, he had not been a stranger within the previous few 
years, having suffered at times from severe attacks of 
sickness, especially inflammatory rheumatism. In his 
last illness he was part of the time unconscious, and when 
not so was but little inclined to conversation except as 
he was roused by mention of the precious name of Jesus, 
which always brought forth a cheerful response as long 
as he was able to articulate. Said one of his sons to 
him, a day or two before his death, " Father, if you 
should die, do you think you would go to heaven ? " to 
which, with characteristic modesty, he answered, "I 
think so." The question followed, " Have you ever done 
anything to merit heaven? " u No," said he, "but it is 



The Family. 29 

written, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved.' " This may be taken as a true illustra- 
tion of his peaceful, trustful frame of mind until the 
weary wheels of life stood still. 

A formal review of the life and character of mother 
would here be appropriate did space permit ; yet in 
reality this is rendered needless by the summary already 
given of father's, which in its general spirit and tenor 
would equally apply to her. Their lives were full of co- 
incidences, not only as to the times and places of their 
birth, but also as to their early conversion, their church 
relations and activities, their social tastes and habits, 
their general Christian character, with their special re- 
ligious experiences, and the dates of their final departure. 

Anecdotes of Parents. 

Living at one time with a Quaker, C. C, who was a 
very wicked man, father was led to pray that the Lord 
iniiiht " show him hell." The old man heard of it and, 
meeting him, said, " Nicholas, I hear thee has prayed 
that God would show me hell." " Yes," was the reply. 
He became very much excited and, raising his cane, 
vociferated, "Show me hell ? Show me hell?" Father, 
approaching him, said with great earnestness, " Yes, show 
you hell! " whereupon the man fell prostrate to the earth 
and lay there a short time, when father took him by the 
hand and raised him up. Afterward he attended Metho- 
dist meeting and showed great kindness to the heroic 
youth who had prayed for him. 

Though father was not a large man, being only about 
five and a half feet in height and well proportioned, yet 
he was a man of great muscular strength, resolute will, 
and unflinching courage in emergencies, these rendering 
him an unsafe man to trifle with. A bully one day came 
up behind him in the shipyard when fye was bent over 
3 



30 Sunset Memories. 

using his broadax and acted roughly toward him, but, 
as father supposed, only in sport. Straightening himself 
and turning around, he playfully raised his ax as if in 
self-defense, when he perceived that the man really 
meant something more than rude fun, for he savagely 
rushed toward him with clinched fists, on seeing which 
father dropped his ax and, striking the bully a quick 
blow, sent him reeling to the ground. No attempt was 
made to renew the attack. 

During a camp meeting held in Hosea Joslyn's woods 
several men came from May's Landing, the county seat, 
a few miles distant, to disturb the meeting. A con- 
stable sought to arrest them; but, armed with clubs, they 
held him at bay, when father, approaching, said, " Do 
you want to arrest them ?" He answered, " Yes; " and 
father springing toward the men they dropped their 
clubs and the officer arrested them. One of their num- 
ber, Mr. Wilson, was put in jail — the first prisoner to 
occupy the new building. Thirty years after this my 
brother James was pastor at May's Landing, and this 
same man, long before converted, was one of the stew- 
ards of his church. 

At a camp meeting held near New Columbia father is 
reported to have preached a sermon of great power. 
He began by saying, "You boatmen, in going down the 
river, don't go a straight course or you would run on 
the bars and your vessels get aground ; but you keep in 
the channel, whatever its course may be. So to-night I 
mean to keep in the channel, be it crooked or straight." 
Under the sermon a man sitting near the altar fell to 
the ground. 

Preaching once at West Creek, he was drawn out in 
bold denunciations against profanity, Sabbath breaking, 
and kindred vices. When at the height of his fervor 
the Rev. Isaac Hugg, junior preacher on the circuit, 



The Family. 31 

very tall and slender, spoke out in his shrill, feminine 
voice, u Give it to them, Brother Yansant !" to which 
the quick answer was, " I intend to do so, for I would 
rather see a red-hot devil than to hear a man swear." 

In his advanced years, among the boys who lived 
with him from time to time on the farm was Charles IT. 
McAnney, now a talented and well-known minister of 
the New York Conference. Like most other boys, lie 
was fond of fun and fun-making. Seeing father one 
day walking out alone, as he frequently did, the playful 
lad concluded to have a little innocent sport with him 
by hiding behind some bushes and then, at the right 
time, rushing out to startle him. But father's habit of 
devout soliloquy quite spoiled the well-laid scheme. As 
he approached Charley heard, him saying, " Bless the 
Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his 
ooly name," etc. This was too much for the sportive 
youth, who quietly subsided without demonstration. 

I add a few items concerning mother. From early 
childhood she was very conscientious and tender- 
hearted. When a small girl, smiting a bumblebee, she 
felled it to the ground, but in turn was herself smitten 
far more severely by her own conscience. One day, 
picking up a walnut in passing, she walked away with 
it; but soon a distressing sense of condemnation im- 
pelled her to return and lay it at the spot where she 
had found it. 

In married life, amid all her cares and toils in raising 
a large family, she felt that if one of her sons should 
become a preacher of the Gospel she would be fully 
compensated. For this she devoutly wished and prayed. 
How the Lord rendered far more than "double" unto her 
in fulfillment of this wish! Several times one marked the 
number of her sons called to the work and crowned 
with the honors of the ministry ; nor did her compen- 



32 Sunset Memories. 

sation cease until several of her sons' sons had been 
called and crowned in like manner. Happy mother! 

She was a diligent reader of the Bible and, having a 
tenacious memory, she so learned many portions of it as 
to be able to recite them as occasion might require. 
Shortly before her death she repeated the fifth chapter 
of Romans verbatim to one of her sons. 

When father was sometimes wakeful at night she 
would interest him by quoting various hymns, a large 
number of which she had learned. And he used to say 
that, in conducting religious meetings, when he wanted 
to receive a special blessing he would call on mother to 
pray. O how many with grateful recollection can call 
to mind the holy fervor and power of her testimonies 
and her prayers! 

In middle and earlier life her habit was to conduct 
the family worship in the absence of father from home. 
The writer has a lively remembrance of some of those 
occasions when he was called upon to lead the devotions 
in turn with herself. Boy as he was of unusual bashful- 
ness, a timid, trembling novice too in vocal prayer be- 
fore others, he could well understand the meaning of 
Charles Wesley's poetic line, "What though my shrink- 
ing flesh complain." But it was a wholesome discipline. 
In their later years the husband and wife led in prayer 
alternately, the scripture reading devolving wholly on 
her as his vision became more and more dim. The 
devotions always closed with the Lord's Prayer. The 
leader would pause after the extemporaneous petitions 
and the other would lead in the Lord's Prayer. This 
double alternation with its beautiful simplicity was con- 
tinued till the husband "was not, for God took him.'" 

Not long before that taking three or four of their 
preacher sons, with some of the grandchildren, were 
gathered at the house of the elder sister; but the central 



The Family. 33 

figures in that happy group were the venerable father 
and mother of us all. The delights of that evening are 
still a sweet fragrance in the memory. The interview 
was closed with a brief prayer service, and chief among 
those who led was the veteran father, yielding to a com- 
mon request. That prayer carried us back to years 
long gone, but never to be forgotten. The prayer 
ended, but we arose not, for the lips that uttered it rev- 
erently said, " Mother, pray the Lord's Prayer; " and in 
devout concert we all joined our tender voices with that 
of the loved and loving leader. 

Many years before her translation by death she 
dreamed a dream, in which the Lord said to her, "I 
have made thy heart pure and white." Was it all a 
dream ? She knew it was not. Rather was it the dream 
of a blessed divine revelation to her sanctified conscious' 
ness that she was fully saved. In this blissful experi- 
ence she lived and at last died, while all who knew her 
had full faith in its reality, and in the unfeigned sincer- 
ity of her confession and practice of it. 



34 Sunset Memories. 



CHAPTER III. 
Brothers and Sisters* 

TWO of these, Samuel and Phebe, died in early child- 
* i hood, leaving seven brothers and two sisters to reach 
adult life and have homes of their own. Their names 
and chief characteristics may be read as follows: 

John W. — The first born of the family, upon whom 
the children who came afterward were wont to look 
with pride as at once the eldest and best of their num- 
ber. He was a circumspect youth, early converted, 
much devoted to secret prayer and the other means of 
grace, careful of his personal appearance, and very dil- 
igent in study. His studious habits were strongly stim- 
ulated by a young Irishman, David Patterson, who came 
to learn the trade with father and brought his books 
with him. 

For greater quiet and convenience in study Brother John 
erected a small building apart from the home, where he 
could pass all his spare hours in communion with his 
library and his God. If at any time there seemed to 
be danger of excess in this direction a gentle reminder 
from anyone of the precept, " Render therefore unto 
Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the 
things that are God's," would alw r ays serve as a whole- 
some arbiter between the conflicting inside claims of 
the study and the outside claims of the shipyard. This 
deep interest on his part in gaining knowledge exerted 
a salutary influence upon the whole family, making it 
in no small degree a home school of critics in grammar, 
orthography, pronunciation, and the general use of 
words. 



The Family. 35 

An illustrative incident of his early Christian life was 
this: At the old Blackman Meetinghouse one evening, 
he and a young man of the same church, Rollin Ashley, 
having left after the public service, concluded to return 
and hold a little prayer meeting by themselves. Brother 
James, yet a boy, had been left asleep in the gallery; 
but just as Mr. Ashley was finishing his prayer he awoke 
in the darkness, very much frightened, and felt his way 
down as best he could to the main floor. By this time 
the second prayer was begun, and the affrighted boy, 
hearing a sound at the altar, walked up the aisle and 
soon recognized the voice as that of his brother John. 
For a moment the young worshipers were startled by 
what at first seemed to them an apparition, but which 
they soon found was a veritable human being, with flesh 
and bones like their own. 

He was early appointed a class leader, and afterward 
licensed as an exhorter, and a little later received a local 
preacher's license. At proper age he married, and not 
long after removed to the "far West," as Ohio, Illinois, 
and adjacent States were then called, settling, after some 
delay, at Rock Island, on the Mississippi, where he es- 
tablished a successful business in steamboat building and 
repairing. At length his business and residence were 
transferred to Le Claire, la., where, with his venerable 
wife, he is now passing the eventide of a long life in the 
quiet of a well-earned competency and with "a lively 
hope" of " an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away." 

Their four sons and two daughters, with numerous 
grandchildren, are such as any father might well feel 
proud of — all of them professing Christians, with per- 
haps one exception, and two of the sons being distin- 
guished as excellent preachers in the local ranks. Years 
ago, while yet living at Rock Island, my brother de- 



36 Sunset Memories. 

clined the renewal of his license on the ground that 
there was so little actual need for a local preacher's 
services in a city station; but as before, so ever since, 
he has held various other important positions in the 
Church with both usefulness to the people and honor 
to himself. His son, Nicholas G., of Rock Falls, 111., was 
a lay delegate to the General Conference of 1896. 

Joel. — The only one of the seven brothers who never 
felt called to the work of the ministry, itinerant or local. 
In common with the rest, he was early called to the service 
of God and the fellowship of his Church; yet from his 
constitutional make-up it was perhaps harder for him to 
become a Christian, live a Christian, and do Chris- 
tian work than for most of the others. His was a 
marked individuality and independence; yet he was a 
man of tender sensibilities and warm sympathies. From 
early life he was full of mischief, but not viciously so. 

When about eighteen he was converted and united 
with the Church, but afterward lapsed into a backslidden 
state, and so remained a few years. Getting hold of his 
father's class book, he erased his own name and that of 
his cousin, Josiah Carter; but he was very unhappy, and 
one night became so distressed that he sent for father 
to come and minister relief to his agonized mind. 

Though of rather slender frame, he was understood to 
be a man of great physical nerve power and strength, so 
that those of pugilistic tendencies were generally afraid to 
encounter him. He was content never to make attacks, 
but only to defend himself against them, which he al- 
ways did with consummate skill and success. The story 
of some of these feats, as we have heard it from his own 
lips, has been stirring indeed, almost startling. 

During a part of his backslidden life he worked a 
considerable distance from home, but was constantly 
followed by the prayers of his yearning parents, and at 



The Family. 37 

length the answer came in a deep impression that their 
" wandering boy " was saved — an impression so strong 
that each was led to say to the other, ik Joel is con- 
verted." And so it proved, for a message soon after 
fully confirmed their comforting belief. 

In course of time he became a class leader and stew- 
ard, holding these, with sometimes other, offices in the 
various localities where he resided. His singing talent 
was a source of enjoyment to himself and of great use- 
fulness to the people with whom he worshiped; but in 
this respect two or more of his sons have quite out- 
stripped the father. 

In his more vigorous years he was known as an expert 
at his trade, never finding an equal, as is alleged, in the 
use of his tools. But a change has come in these later 
years, not only by reason of advancing age, but also 
and especially through the heavy pressure of multiplied 
afflictions. Not to speak of pecuniary losses, the dark 
shadows of bereavement in successive visitations have 
sadly dimmed the light of his home and his heart : his 
cheerful Lizzie, dying amid the sweet endearments of 
youthful motherhood ; his devoted Madeline, arrested in 
the busy career of a useful maidenhood; his gentle 
Doughty, summoned from the tender relationships of 
husband and father; and, heaviest of all to bear, his be- 
loved Catherine, the cherished, painstaking wife of his 
youth and of his riper years until old age had stolen on 
apace — all these overtaken by lingering sickness and 
borne away to the grave at painfully brief intervals, mak- 
ing his once happy home a desolation, and leaving upon 
his sensitive soul and already enfeebled body the deep 
impress of an ineffaceable sorrow. Yet he murmurs not, 
but day by day is watching and waiting in prayerful 
patience until his own change shall come. 

I only add that when, a boy of fourteen, I stood be- 



38 Sunset Memories. 

fore the altar of the old Blackman Meetinghouse and 
gave my name to the Church it was my brother Joel 
who said to me with a warm grasp of the hand, as we 
met at the close of the service in front of the venerable 
edifice, "You have engaged in a good cause; be faithful 
unto death/' The words were few, but O how welcome 
and encouraging! And all through the years that have 
since come and gone they have have been sacredly 
treasured up in the casket of a grateful memory. 

Since the above was written the end has come. He 
peacefully slept in Jesus, November 5, 1895, at the home 
of our brother Nathaniel, Lower Bank, N. J., and was 
laid beside his cherished dead in the neighborhood ceme- 
tery. 

James.— Chief of the two facetious brothers of the fam- 
ily. When about thirteen he started to be religious, 
through the agency of his brother John. His fervor in 
worship was very marked, and on one occasion he be- 
came quite unconscious of his surroundings, continuing 
on his knees praying and rejoicing till the meeting had 
closed without his knowledge. He asked advice about 
joining the Church, the advice being against it; but 
when the time came for persons to join he felt con- 
strained to go forward, and the preacher, the Rev. James 
Ayars, putting his arm around him, said, " God bless the 
boy!" For a year he was very faithful ; then his reli- 
gious course began to be a zigzag one, and at length he 
lost his membership in the Church, which, however, was 
soon renewed. 

In his early manhood he was licensed to exhort by 
the Rev. Edward Page, and about a year later received 
a local preacher's license, the Rev. Thomas Christopher 
being preacher in charge. He was greatly exercised 
about devoting himself to the itinerant work; but his 
wife (he was married very young) showed a strong aver- 



The Family. 39 

sion to it, whereupon he laid the subject before the Lord, 
saying, "Lord, if under the circumstances it is thy will 
that I should go let me be without work; if not, give me 
a contrary sign." Soon after two gentlemen called to 
engage him to build a large vessel, and he arranged with 
them to do so. The next ten years continued full of 
work, enabling him to make several thousand dollars 
more, probably, than any other builder in the county. 

Near the close of this decade the beloved wife of his 
youth sickened and died. Presiding Elder Isaac N. 
Felch suggested that now he ought to give himself up 
wholly to the work of the ministry, which he decided to 
do, going out on his first circuit under Presiding Elder 
Thomas Sovereign in the spring of 1855. 

In course of time he married another excellent woman, 
who, after thirteen years of happy wedded life, died 
with great suddenness while away from home with her 
husband visiting a former charge. Returning to the 
home at Swedesborough, N. J., on Sunday morning, he 
arrived just after the congregation had gathered for 
worship. As he approached the parsonage, next door to 
the church, the children, all ignorant of what had, be- 
fallen them, ran out to greet father and mother. Alas! 
she was missing; and when they asked, " Where is 
mother? " he was sadly obliged to answer, " She is dead." 
Word was conveyed to the church, where Brother John 
Davidson, a local preacher, arose and said, " We are 
all mourners to-day," and soon afterward dismissed the 
meeting. 

Having passed years of loneliness, it was rumored that 
he was again looking toward marriage, which led a fel- 
low-member of the Conference to say to him, " Brother 
Vansant, I hear you are about to be married again;" to 
whicli, with great solemnity of tone and manner, he re- 
plied, " I never expect to change another woman's name 



40 Sunset Memories. 

to mine." After the marriage the same preacher met 
him and said, with no little vigor, " Brother Vansant, you 
lied to me ; you told me you never expected to marry 
again/' To this, with great blandness, the accused 
bridegroom replied, "Why no, brother, I didn't; I told 
you I never expected to change another woman's name 
to mine, and I haven't, for her name before our mar- 
riage was Rachel Vansant, the exact name of my former 
wife." The preacher relaxed his sternness and seemed 
satisfied. 

Many punning rhymes, the spontaneous products of 
his fertile brain and pen, can be recited by him at will 
from a memory which almost never forgets; and not a 
few of his pieces, both grave and gay, as published in 
various newspapers, have displayed the marks of true 
poetic genius. However interesting, we are obliged to 
omit them all. 

His remarkable powers of imitation have not always, 
perhaps, been wisely employed; but sometimes they have 
served a very useful purpose, as the following instance 
will show. While in his backslidden state, working on 
the stage of a vessel at Bass River with his cousin, John 
Carter, he recited to him a sermon delivered in his hear- 
ing by that prince of pathetic and stirring preachers, the 
Rev. Thomas G. Stewart. The text was taken from 
Psalm xxxvii, 35: " I have seen the wicked in great 
power," etc. So complete and impressive was the imi- 
tation that an unconverted man near by, overhearing it, 
was seized with conviction and afterward became con- 
verted. Several years having passed, it was announced 
that Brother James would preach at Catawba, where the 
man now lived, who, having learned of the announce- 
ment, said, "Why, I have heard him preach; " and when 
reminded by some one that at the time he named Mr. 
Vansant was not a preacher, not even a Christian, he 



The Family. 41 

said, " I don't believe it, for no man could preach as he 
did without being a converted man." 

His four living children, a son and three daughters, 
are an honor and comfort to him, and helpful to the 
churches in the localities where they reside. One of the 
thrifty merchants of Philadelphia is the son bearing his 
name ; and one of the usefully active workers in the 
church at Tuckerton, N. J., is the eldest daughter, Mrs. 
G. W. Mathis. 

He has given practical proof of his belief in that 
primal doctrine of Scripture, " It is not good that the 
man should be alone." Having sincerely mourned the 
death of her whose name needed no change to conform 
it to his own, he invited another lady of suitable age 
and character to occupy her place in the home and 
minister to the needs of his advancing years. 

While he largely attributes his vigorous health to his 
facetious spirit and habit in social life, many of his 
friends, with himself, cannot feel certain that his spir- 
itual influence and success have not been unfavorably 
affected thereby. He tells of the following conversa- 
tion between himself and an intelligent lady of his 
church: " Sister, do you think I am as good out of the 
pulpit as I am in it?" to which after a pause she made 
this reply: " Brother Vansant, I prefer not to answer 
that question." 

Rebecca. — The elder of the two sisters, and possessed 
in earlier years of no small measure of personal beauty. 
She had some special advantages of education in girl- 
hood as a pupil in the private boarding school of Miss 
Sarah Richards, at Gloucester Furnace, daughter of 
John Richards, Esq., a man of great urbanity and ex- 
tensively engaged in the manufacture of iron. The 
daughter partook largely of his spirit and manner, ren- 
dering her a great favorite with her pupils and the com- 



42 Sunset Memories. 

munity in general. It was not wonderful, therefore, 
that the Rev. John A. Boyle, an able and talented min- 
ister of the Philadelphia Conference, should be drawn 
toward her, or that their acquaintance should at length 
result in a happy marriage. Nor was'it strange that the 
fruit of that marriage, in the person of the eldest son, 
should take the name of John Richards Boyle, nor yet 
that under the training of such a mother he should grow- 
up to fill, and more than fill, the place of his father 
(who entered the army at the outbreak of the Rebellion, 
rising to the rank of major, and was killed at the battle 
of Chattanooga, October 29, 1863) as an able and dis- 
tinguished minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
such as he is at this day. It was under the tutelage of 
this superior woman, recently deceased, that my sister 
early received important and useful instruction in books 
and general knowledge. 

Of her disposition it may be said that she was and is 
a model of good nature. When about seventeen she 
was married to Peter Lane, a ypung man fitted by both 
nature and grace to make her an: excellent husband. 
Their married life was a very happy one, during which 
eleven children were born to them. Active and suc- 
cessful in business, a consistent Christian, 1 useful : as ;; a 
member and officer of the Church, with superior talent 
as a "sweet singer," it seemed to us all that death came 
to him quite too early, when " manhood's middle day " 
was but little past, and when his large family, with the 
church and community, greatly needed his presence, 
counsel, and help. About two years later the eldest 
daughter, Abbie, waved her last earthly farewell to lov- 
ing mother, devoted husband, and five precious chil- 
dren, which was followed by the death of the latest- 
born, Susie, a blooming girl of great beauty and promise, 
following which a few years later came the sudden 



The Family. 43 

sickness and death, far away from home, of an adult 
married son bearing the father's name. 

Did the stricken wife and mother in all these painful 
experiences " murmur or complain beneath the chasten- 
ing rod," or charge God with either unkindness or un- 
wisdom ? O, how her faith rose on each successive 
occasion to the sublime aUitude of grasping the simple, 
assuring truth so variously and beautifully expressed in 
the mottoes, " He doeth all things well," " Too wise to 
err, too good to be unkind," "Whom the Lord loveth 
he chasteneth," and " We know that all things work to- 
gether for good to them that love God!" During all 
the lonely years of her widowhood that faith has been 
keeping her soul in purity and patience and peace. 

Several years ago one of the daughters became the 
happy bride of the Rev. Lewis M. Atkinson, of the New 
Jersey Conference, a very good preacher and successful 
pastor. Their domestic bliss seemed quite complete. 
But his career, how short and fleeting! Disease fol- 
lowed him with steady tread until sudden death ensued. 
Ah, how many besides a large circle of kindred lamented 
his early departure, among them scores and hundreds 
who had been brought to Jesus under his ministry! To 
cheer the loneliness of the young widowed mother and 
to represent the invisible personality of the father, there 
was left a precious boy, whose expanding mind it is 
hoped and believed will adopt for imitation the pure 
ideal of that father's noble character and life. 

My sister's maternal love toward her two living sons 
and five daughters — some of the latter of notable come- 
liness — ever finds a ready response in that combined filial 
regard which spontaneously turns toward her as their cher- 
ished ideal of true excellence. Most of them are Chris- 
tians and walking with her in the way to heaven. Why 
should not this become speedily true of every one 7 



44 Sunset Memories. 

Samuel. — The first of our adult number to pioneer 
the way through death to heaven. He was broad in 
genius, in character, in usefulness. Whether a youth 
in the boatyard, or afterward a preacher and pastor, 
or yet later a presiding elder during nearly three full 
terms, he showed the hand of a master. His preaching 
was always of a high order, but at camp meetings and 
on other special occasions it was often extraordinary, 
eliciting comparisons with that of-Pitman and Bartine. 
He was blessed with a wife whose comeliness of person 
and manner, combined with her sociability and Chris- 
tian zeal, contributed not a little to his popularity and 
success. 

With others he became interested in establishing a 
camp meeting ground at Island Heights, N. J., where 
he fixed his district residence, and where he planned 
and superintended the erection of a beautiful home, 
overlooking the placid waters of Tom's River in its 
gentle ebb and flow. Ah, little did he then think 
that the favorite room in that home would in the near 
future become to him a "chamber where the good man 
meets his fate! " But so it proved in the quiet eventide 
of April 24, 1881, when he had just passed the middle 
of his sixtieth year of life, and was just completing the 
thirty-eighth of his ministry. 

To five goodly sons in that household there had been 
added a lovely daughter, who at once became the joy 
and pride of the whole family. She was now in the 
freshness and bloom of a charming girlhood, and upon 
no one's heart in that home, save the mother's, did the 
stroke of this bereavement fall more heavily than upon 
hers. Yet she bore it heroically, and it served but to 
quicken her ambition to attain a true Christian woman- 
hood, that in the highest possible degree she might 
prove a comfort and help to her widowed mother. Her 



The Family. 45 

yearning aspirations turned toward a higher education, 
especially in music; and to this end she entered the Bor- 
dentown Female College, where she was enthusiastically 
pursuing her course when a fatal typhoid fever stealthily 
enwrapped her comely form in its slow consuming flame, 
putting an arrest upon all her studies, withering the 
brightest hopes of herself and her friends, blighting and 
wasting her stately, womanly person, and leaving behind 
only the urn and ashes of her flushing, throbbing young 
life, so precious and so promising. 

Sunday, December 6, 1885, witnessed the return of 
Ada's pure spirit to God. The removal of the remains 
to the newly-desolated home was followed by funeral 
services at the Tom's River Methodist Episcopal 
Church, in which the most appreciative tributes to her 
character and worth were tenderly offered by favorite 
ministers and chosen representatives of the college. 
That funeral occasion, coming so soon after the la- 
mented father's, and occurring on the same spot w ? hich 
had then been suffused by so many tears, was more 
than simply impressive ; it was oppressive beyond all 
possible description in words, by reason of the double 
sorrow which cast its dark, dense shadow upon it — the 
saddest of all the funerals witnessed by the writer dur- 
ing his long and varied life. 

What would have been the joy of that father could he 
have lived a few years longer to witness the advance- 
ment to the ministry of the son whose name so fitly 
perpetuates both his own father's and that of another 
distinguished minister among us ! He would doubtless 
have felt that the Lord had indeed raised up a worthy 
successor to him in his cherished life-work. That son 
is the Rev. Samuel Monroe Vansant, of the New Jersey 
Conference, to whom there have descended not a few 
of the noble traits that marked the father. By his re- 
4 



46 Sunset Memories. 

cent marriage to Miss Lottie Gertrude Johnson, of New 
York city, a young woman at once accomplished and 
practical, he has doubled his equipment for his great 
work. May he more and more honor the full name 
that honors him ! 

In The Methodist of June 4, 1881, there appears an 
article with the title, " A Brother's Tribute, by N. V." 
It was read with tender interest by hundreds, and was 
copied in whole or in part by various other papers. 
Many desired its wider circulation, and I was impor- 
tuned by some of the young men of the New Jersey 
Conference to issue it in tract form for more general 
distribution ; but this suggestion was never carried into 
effect. It is here given as originally written and pub- 
lished, free from all the mistakes of copyists: 

" My brother is dead ! Our domestic circle is broken! 
The keystone of our family arch has fallen! Until now 
it consisted of nine closely cemented stones — seven 
brothers and two sisters. Among these he stood mid- 
way, four his seniors and four his juniors, the group on 
either hand embracing three brothers and one sister. 
This central place he held, not by age only, but also by 
will and character — the fit keystone of our sacred arch. 

" Two years ago the patriarchal father and venerable 
mother, the long abiding bases of the arch, sunk peace- 
fully away from human sight under the pressure of ac- 
cumulated years, each having a few months before en- 
tered the tenth decade of earthly life. Their disap- 
pearance, though so gentle, gave a shock to the whole 
arch, but to no stone composing it more than to the hon- 
ored one just fallen. Previously loosened in its position 
by insidious diseases, the loosening seemed to be hastened 
by that shock, until its hold was quite broken and, falling 
from its elevated place, it dropped into the dust of death. 



The Family. 47 

' When we all stood around the casket of our vener- 
ated sire — all save the first-born in his distant Western 
home — and each one's grief was too deep for utterance 
in words, he alone of all the group could summon the 
self-control to say before the large assemblage what we 
each felt : ' I would rather possess the remembrance 
and influence of my father's godly instruction and holy 
life than to have placed in my hands at this moment 
thousands of dollars.' 

" When, eight months after, the same group gathered 
about the clay-cold form of our cherished mother and 
gazed upon her countenance, so gentle in life and so 
placid in death, then glanced at the modest wreath of 
wheat that lay upon the casket, it was he who again 
spoke in a clear, full voice and said, ' If it is ripened 
wheats it will do,' and, having with his now moveless 
fingers made satisfactory examination, he added in ten- 
der, subdued accents, ' It is ripe — it will do.' 

"As we grew up together, we were not only next each 
other in age, but almost equal in size, he being in 
stature behind his years and myself in advance ; so that 
he was often taken for the younger brother, though in 
fact the elder. These and other circumstances tended 
to unite us in a closer sympathy and companionship 
than most others of the home. We ate and slept and 
played and worked together. We attended school and 
walked to the house of God in company. We breathed 
each other's atmosphere and lived in each other's love 
and confidence. 

" He was my early defender, superior in age and mus- 
cular strength, in courage and force of will ; whatever 
assaults might come to me from rude playmates or 
school companions he took it upon himself promptly to 
repel. Indeed, he was born to rule — modestly, kindly, 
firmly — and the place thus assigned him by natural 



48 Sunset Memories. 

constitution and endowment was recognized instinc- 
tively and without challenge by all about him. 

" ' Who also were in Christ before me.' What Paul 
thus wrote concerning some in his day was reversed in 
the present case. My own conversion preceded his by 
two or more years, and doubtless under God helped to 
accomplish it. Occupying the same room and bed, his 
rebellious nature would sometimes protest against the 
praise and prayer which ever and anon were too big for 
my young heart to hold, even after retirement. One 
occasion is vividly remembered when, after returning 
from a happy evening meeting, it was a sweet relief to 
moisten my pillow with tears of joy and make the room 
resound with ejaculations of praise; but to him the an- 
noyance was unbearable, and, petulantly rebuking me in 
words, he suited the action of his strong elbow to the 
forceful utterances of his lips. 

" Not long after, the lion himself became a lamb. O, 
it was a marked achievement of grace when his strong 
will and proud heart submitted to God! He was sig- 
nally converted, and he carried the deep stamp of that 
conversion to the latest hour of his life. As in the 
Christian life, so in the ministry, he was my junior. 
But how soon may all distinction of years become ob- 
literated by superior talent, self-command, and power 
of execution ! In process of time two, ay, three, others 
of our number entered the same ministry, but not to 
challenge his place— only to imitate as best they might 
his devotion and prowess. All through the years, by 
common consent, he was our Elijah. 

"'Behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.' Let me 
then hasten to his bedside. O that burning fever, those 
wasted energies! For weary months, even years, his 
powerful will has been battling against a marshaled 
host of diseases. How fierce and unremitting the con- 



The Family. 49 

test! Once and again his devoted wife has anxiously 
asked, ' Had you not better suspend your active labors 
for needed rest and recuperation ? ' to which the charac- 
teristic answer would always come back, * No, I can- 
not cease from my work until compelled to do so.' Ah 
me, the time has come ! That all-consuming fever for 
three long weeks has been preying upon his vitals. Yet 
his mind is clear and his courage unabated. 

" This sick chamber is holy ground. The strong man 
has bowed himself, or rather has been bowed by an- 
other. Alas, my brother! Sacred is the circle gathered 
here — the wife, five sons, the only daughter, the next 
older sister, and the next younger brother. Tread 
softly! Will he recognize me? Approach and ask. ' Do 
you know me?' ' Why, yes ; it is Nicholas — kiss me.' 
My loving brother ! An interval follows. 'You are trust- 
ing in Jesus?' * My trust is in the living God.' Another 
interval. 'Your trust is still in God?' 'I am trusting 
in Christ.' Blessed testimony ! It is enough. But must 
he die ? Has the Master no more work for him on earth? 
O what pleadings of soul with God for his recovery ! 
W T ill he not honor these many and urgent petitions? 

" The Sabbath evening's sun has just calmly set, and 
his sun of life seems fast following. Ah ! we must yield 
him up — yet, dear Father, how can it be? Is he gone ? 
Not a muscle stirs ; not a sound is heard. So gently 
has the spirit passed away, the moment cannot be de- 
termined. All is over, and the hands on the dial mark 
eight o'clock. Our Elijah has been translated. 'I pray 
thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.' In 
my deep meditation, forgetting there are others to need 
and to covet this spirit, there comes to me a deep and 
almost overwhelming sense of added responsibility, as 
though I were now charged with the double work of my 
ascended brother and my own. May I not take up his 



50 Sunset Memories. 

fallen mantle and with it smite many a turbulent Jordan 
to a parting of the. waters hither and thither? i Who is 
sufficient for these things ? ' ' Our sufficiency is of God/ 
My heart is sad. To human short-sightedness it seems 
as if he ought not yet to have died, as if he were'- more 
needed on earth than in heaven. * Be still, and know 
that I am God/ 'Speak, Lord ; for thy servant hear- 
eth.' Farewell, pure-spirit, till we meet in the glory- 
land! Dear, sleeping form, sleep on and take thy rest 
till the voice of the Son of God shall rend the tomb that 
bears the loved name of the Rev. Samuel Vansant, and 
he shall write upon thy ransomed brow in lines immortal 
his own * new name/ " 

Now comes the sad office of adding the record of my 
sister-in-law's death on March n, 1895. Her venerable 
father, after ninety-two years of life, had recently passed 
away, and her mother, alike venerable in age and char- 
acter, had become disabled by a serious accident. To 
that afflicted mother how welcome were the tender min- 
istries of the daughter/and how lovingly were they be- 
stowed! But in the midst of them the daughter her- 
self became a sudden victim to pneumonia and died. 
The painful shock of that death was felt very widely. 
Her precious form was borne back from the homestead 
in Philadelphia to Tom's River, N. J., where it was ten- 
derly'laid beside those of her cherished husband and 
daughter. With her own children, as sincere mourners 
in this bereavement, was numbered her brother, the 
Hon. J. L. Hays, of Newark, with many other kindred 
and friends who loved her as one eminently lovable. 

Nicholas. — The seventh child, but not the seventh 
son. Alackaday! Had the latter been true there is no 
telling what influence the old seventh son legend might 
have had upon me, or what great wonders in the healing 



The Family. 51 

art and otherwise might have rendered my name notori- 
ous long ere this. Of my Christian name I have never 
been an ardent admirer, but have never rebelled against it, 
since that would have been useless; rather has there been 
a quiet submission to it from its exact correspondence 
with the name of my revered father. Was this particu- 
lar name given me in infancy because I was, or was likely 
to be, a favorite child? I trow not; yet I am free to 
confess that I have never found occasion to complain of 
any invidious distinctions against me in our family life. 
These few pleasant jottings, suggested by the number 
and the name, are but preliminary to a fuller narration 
in a future chapter. 

Nathaniel D. — The tallest, though not the heaviest, 
of our number. For many years he has had " a local 
habitation and a name " at Lower Bank, N. J., where 
his quiet, but commanding, influence for good is felt in 
all the community. Portions of his boyhood were at- 
tended by frailty and sickness; but, overcoming this 
condition through a merciful Providence, he reached a 
healthful manhood, giving himself to study and to work in 
preparation for his future, whatever it might prove to be. 
For a time his occupation was that of a school-teacher, 
in which capacity he served the public with acceptance 
and usefulness. 

While yet a young man lie was licensed as a local 
preacher, and some years after received ordination as a 
deacon. Though he never offered himself to the Annual 
Conference, he was repeatedly employed by presiding 
elders to serve in the pastoral work, which he always 
did with good success. More than twenty-five years ago 
he became a justice of the peace, in which public office, 
as also others, he has been serving the community with 
strictest integrity and great usefulness to the present. 
His habitual endeavor has been by wise counsel and ear- 



52 Sunset Memories. 

nest entreaty to secure a settlement between contend- 
ing parties without a trial, and very often he has happily 
succeeded. Nor is the fact unworthy of note that 
no one of his legal decisions has ever been set aside 
in any essential particular under appeal to a superior 
court. 

It is now a long time since he sought and found a wife, 
thereby finding u a good thing " and obtaining " favor 
of the Lord." A precious babe was born to brighten 
and cheer their home; but, as if in eager haste to satisfy 
the ever-greedy grave, the dark death' angel followed in 
but a few short weeks, turning the brightness of that 
home to gloom, its gladness to grief. But a far deeper 
sorrow awaited the husband and father in the sickness 
and death of the wife and mother. Several years, indeed, 
of domestic bliss intervened before that deeper sorrow 
came, but this seemed only to intensify its bitterness 
when the dreaded time, foreshadowed by months of fail- 
ing health, at last arrived. Ah, sad beyond measure 
was the day on which the open grave received all that 
was mortal of his beloved Sarah ; and, though long 
years have since passed away, his tender marital love 
has never ceased to center upon that sacredest of all 
sacred spots, the grave of his supreme earthly treasure. 
Over that honored grave and the smaller one that nes- 
tles beside it how often does the quiet eventide wit- 
ness some fresh libation of tears from the eyes so wont 
to weep — not indeed tears of murmuring or repin- 
ing, but of tender, affectionate remembrance. "Jesus 
wept." 

Happily, the burden of his oppressive loneliness be- 
came lightened by the timely offices of a careful, pains- 
taking niece, Mrs. Louisa Crane, who, in the strange 
orderings of Providence, had become so situated that she 
could enter that bereft home and take charge of its do- 



The Family. 53 

mestic affairs. Here numerous kindred and other friends 
find a cordial welcome and generous entertainment; 
and here the thoughts of an adopted son, William 
Cramer, very often cluster in a fond remembrance of his 
childhood joys. 

Mary Ann. — The younger of the two sisters by eight 
or nine years, taller and more slender. It is no vain 
conceit which prompts the statement that in girlhood she 
was handsome and amiable. She early became the wife 
of Captain Richard Cramer, whose kindness during all 
the passing years has been equaled only by her own un- 
faltering devotion. Their Christian home has been the 
scene of many a joy and many a sorrow, but amid all it 
has ever been marked by an absence of all undue elation 
or undue depression. 

The captain was a widower with a young son, who in 
the new home grew up to a noble manhood and has 
shown a respect and affection toward his parents which 
are worthy of all praise. In course of time there came 
to be added two other sons and seven daughters, all of 
whom have been spared, save one of the latter, who 
several years since was called away in the bloom and 
beauty of a promising girlhood. Some of those who 
remain are notable for personal comeliness, and all of 
them in these later years are proving a great comfort to 
the rapidly aging parents. 

Isaac N. — The youngest and heaviest of the family 
group, striking hands at times with two hundred and 
thirty avoirdupois. He was converted early, married 
early, and entered the ministry early, but not, in the last 
case, until he had successfully pursued his trade by 
building several superb vessels of larger size. 

The number of his children reached half a score, of 
whom one died when very young, leaving six sons and 
three daughters to grow up and enter married life. 



54 Sunset Memories. 

Several of these, with the father, are noted for their 
superior musical talent. One of the sons, having gradu- 
ated at Drew Seminary, entered the New Jersey Confer- 
ence, but not long after, through impaired health, was 
obliged to relinquish his charge. Rest for a while 
brought with.it recuperation and an earnest desire to 
resume the pastoral work, which was done after a trans- 
fer to the Troy Conference, the territory and climate of 
which, it was hoped, would be promotive of permanent 
good health. Here he entered with zest upon the work 
of a new charge, accompanied by a young bride adapted 
in every way to become a true helpmeet; nor did their 
diligent efforts fail of a true success, amid which he was 
overtaken by a dangerous, and what was feared would 
prove a fatal, illness, compelling him again to abandon 
his favorite work. Long and regretfully will the peo- 
ple of his late charge cherish the name of the Rev. C. 
Frank Vansant and that of his excellent wife. 

Brother Isaac's soul is as large as his body, enabling 
him, through sanctifying grace, to preach strong, impres- 
sive sermons and to achieve far more than average suc- 
cess, his great emotional, sympathetic nature contributing 
not a little to this result. His natural humor gives him 
great favor and popularity in social life, but is never 
allowed to detract from the true dignity of the pulpit. 
Ready wit and entertaining anecdote are wont to give 
special interest to occasional meetings between himself 
and brother James, provided the circumstances are such 
as admit of innocent fun. 

He of whom I write, though the latest born of our 
number, is now no longer young, the sixty-fifth mile- 
stone of his life having been reached and passed; yet in 
appearance, and largely so in fact, he is still vigorous 
and able to pursue with unabated activity his ac- 
customed vocation. It is fitting that he and his faith- 



The Family. 55 

ful wife, after the cares and toils of rearing a large 
family, should now enjoy the quiet of a pleasant par- 
sonage home, amid the happy associations of a loved 
and loving people. 

Conclusion. 

These sketches, though for the most part very brief, 
are sufficiently extended for the purpose designed. To 
have made them exhaustive several volumes would have 
been required, instead of one. They are intended to 
magnify the grace of God as illustrated in the history 
of a plain, practical, honest, and earnest family. In 
closing this chapter nothing needs to be added but 
the emphatic public recognition of this family by one, 
among others, whose eloquence as a speaker and writer 
has acquired a national reputation. The report of such 
recognition was published in the Ocean Grove Record of 
August 8, 1885. It opened thus: 

" One of the most thoughtful and suggestive lectures 
of the series delivered at the recent Sunday School As- 
sembly was that by General James F. Rusling, of Tren- 
ton, N. J., on Friday afternoon, July 31. His subject 
was 'The Relation of the Sunday School to the State.'" 

Then followed a strong, convincing argument in il- 
lustration of this theme, in the course of which lie said: 

"We can only save the State by capturing its chil- 
dren, who are to become its future citizens, and drilling 
and disciplining them for Jesus; and how can we do 
this so well as in and by and through our Sunday 
schools? . . . Put the children of America well through 
our public schools, eompulsorily if need "be, and then 
through our Sunday schools, and I will answer for the 
future of the Republic. Neglect the children, and the 
logical result is 4 Margaret, the mother of criminals and 
paupers.' Educate and care for them, and the result 



56 Sunset Memories. 

will be Vincent and Vansant, Grant and Garfield, sa- 
viours and defenders of the State/' 

The speaker was in no way related to our family, and 
had a personal acquaintance with only two or three 
members of it; but he could speak as he did on the 
ground of a general and well-established reputation, 
The putting of our family name in such good company 
was as honest and impartial on his part as it was un- 
sought by us. 



PART II. 

PERSONAL LIFE AND MINISTRY. 



Personal Life and Ministry. 59 



CHAPTER I. 

A Notable Birthplace — Almost* 

IN speaking facetiously I hope not to be misunder- 
* stood when I say that, like many great men and 
many more not great, I was born in a plain country 
home, which years ago gave way to another and better 
structure, no one ever dreaming, apparently, that it 
ought to be preserved in primitive condition for the 
sake of those who delight in making pilgrimages to the 
birthplaces of distinguished preachers, poets, historians, 
statesmen, and presidents. Yet, as a matter of fact, 
many thousands of eager sight-seers do pass year by 
year within a few yards of the spot where I first saw 
the light, December 7, 1823, in the modest village of 
Absecon, N. J., a place now rendered notable by its 
proximity to that far more notable seaside resort, Atlantic 
City, which at the time of my humble advent was no 
city at all, only a bleak, uninhabited strand. I dare 
not indulge the vain conceit, much less affirm, that 
years afterward this renowned city was founded and 
grew into fame for the purpose of securing attention, 
however casual, to the scene of my nativity and early 
babyhood. 

But enough of this. In plain prose, Absecon is a 
very respectable village and has been from the begin- 
ning of the century. Barber's Historical Collections of 
New Jersey, first published in 1844, contains these 
notices of it: u From this place [Somers Point] along 
the shore to Absecombe there is an almost continuous 
line of houses." " Absecombe, in the southeast corner 
[of Galloway township], thirteen miles from May's Land- 



60 Sunset Memories. 

ing, contains about thirty houses." Lippincott's Gazet- 
teer (1855) describes it thus: "Absecum (written also 
Absecombe, Absecom, and Absecon), a post-village of 
Atlantic County, N. J., on a creek of the same name, 
ninety-five miles south of Trenton, and two miles above 
Absecum Bay. It is connected with Camden by the 
Camden and Atlantic Railroad." This perplexing med- 
ley of names for the one place, or rather of modes in 
spelling the one name, seems at length to have given 
way to the shortest and simplest mode, Absecon, which 
has come to be recognized in common parlance, in 
railroad time-tables, in the Conference Minutes, and 
in legal documents as embodying the true orthog- 
raphy. 

My earliest recollections of this ancient town stand 
associated with the old-fashioned quarterly meeting oc- 
casions of boyhood days. When two years old I had 
been taken by my parents to their new home at Port 
Republic, seven miles northward; but we still remained 
within the bounds of the old Bargaintown Circuit, of 
which Absecon was one of the chief appointments. 
Here, in its regular turn, the quarterly meeting would 
be held, and we w r ould always be in attendance on both 
Saturday and Sunday. Very vivid is my vision of the 
plain, substantial brick church, with its hard open-back 
seats, lofty galleries, and high pulpit. The Sunday morn- 
ing love feast called forth the best devotions of the best 
people. Those were the days of admittance only to the 
saints; the days, too, of lusty singing, of burning testi- 
monies, of hearty aniens, and loud hallelujahs. Here 
were the Corderys, the Doughtys, the Blackmans, the 
Tiltons, the Frambeses, with " blind Mary Collins," and 
many others from various parts of the large circuit. 
Then would come the preaching by the presiding elder 
to a thronging congregation, preaching not always great, 



Personal Life and Ministry. 61 

indeed, but always spiritual, practical, and telling. The 
impression left by those early scenes upon one young, 
tender heart, at least, has been abiding and has been 
handed down to old age as a legacy of untold worth. 
For the present, dear birthplace, good-bye ! 
5 



62 Sunset Memories 



CHAPTER II. 

Some Incidents of Boyhood* 

ft A Y boyhood in most respects was like that of most 
* * * other boys, with its eating and drinking and 
sleeping, its laughing and crying, playing and working, 
hopes and disappointments, school attendance and dis- 
eases of childhood, etc. But my memory recalls some 
startling or otherwise noteworthy incidents. 

Protection and Escape. 

When a lad of seven or eight years, being with other 
and older boys at play, they started to run away from 
me, and I in running after them, with a half-opened 
pocketknife in my hand, stumbled and fell upon its 
pointed blade, which, cutting through my clothes, made 
an ugly incision in the flesh covering the diaphragm, 
the scar of which is carried to this day. Had that 
blade penetrated a vital organ, it is easy to see how 
serious might have been the result. 

When somewhat older, several boys, of whom I was 
one, were engaged in playing " sky-ball," as it was 
familiarly called, in front of Levi D. Howard's black- 
smith shop, whence his attention was turned to us. A 
large, athletic man of kindly disposition, he came from 
his shop, with heavy sledge hammer in hand, to aid us 
in our sport. With a ball adjusted upon the lower end 
of a lever made of green oak, we went out and stood 
around, with upturned faces and double hands extended 
to catch the descending ball, when with his strong, 
muscular arms he struck the projecting end of the lever 
and sent the ball whizzing in upper air. Alas for me ! 



Personal Life and Ministry. 63 

Instead of the ball there came the flying lever and 
struck the center of my forehead, as though directed by 
a deadly aim. I fell to the ground, with the blood 
gushing forth as if from a fatal wound in battle. That 
the heavy missile did not crash through the skull and 
dash out my young life has been cause for continual 
wonder, mingled with devout gratitude to God for his 
protecting care. I was taken to the blacksmith's home 
next door, where his good wife tenderly dressed the 
wound and cared for me till I was able to go home, 
about half a mile distant. Though no serious results 
followed this accident, the scar which it left has never 
ceased to stare me in the face day by day. It may be 
added that, some years afterward, Mrs. Howard, who 
was a daughter of Mr. Jonas Miller, one of the promi- 
nent citizens of the place, was left a widow, and subse- 
quently became the wife of a New Jersey Conference 
minister, the Rev. William A. Brooks. 

Another sudden peril and hairbreadth escape came to 
me not far from the same time and place. The old mill 
race of Mr. Nehemiah Blackman, a wealthy and influen- 
tial citizen, was used by the young men and boys of the 
neighborhood as a favorite resort for bathing and swim- 
ming. With others, I was one day there enjoying the 
accustomed sport and trying withal to learn the swim- 
ming art, when suddenly I stepped from the shallow 
water into a deep hole and soon found myself struggling 
in vain to keep afloat. Sinking and rising, then sinking 
and rising again, I was about to sink for the third and 
last time when my brother James, who was a short 
distance away, rushed to my rescue. Not long after- 
ward the old mill w r as torn down, and a new and larger 
one was about to be built in its stead. When the day 
came for raising the new frame the neighbors gathered 
from near and far, it being understood that so large a 



64 Sunset Memories. 

building would require many hands to rear its frame, and 
that, moreover, a bountiful dinner would be served to all 
who should render help. I could lift a few pounds. Why, 
therefore, might I not go ? So I reasoned, and under the 
reasoning answered my own question by going. Was 
the service I rendered a thank offering to the Lord for 
my late deliverance from drowning at that familiar spot? 
This would have been eminently appropriate. But as I 
now look back I fear that thoughts of the sumptuous 
dinner had far more to do with my going than any other 
consideration. 

Somewhat later I unwittingly ventured into a most 
perilous position, though but little given in general 
to adventurous feats. Father had built and launched 
a schooner of large size, which lay afloat in the stream 
while being rigged. Her masts and shrouds, but 
not her topmasts, had been put in place. Ascending 
by the shrouds to the foremasthead, I climbed from 
the crosstrees to the extreme top of the mast, and, 
raising myself up, stood erect for two or more minutes 
surveying the landscape before me, with no support 
save that beneath my feet ; then, carefully letting my- 
self down to the crosstrees, I thence descended by the 
shrouds to the deck. Well for me, all this occurred 
without the notice or knowledge of the men engaged 
in their work on deck, for a word spoken to me in 
my dangerous position would have been likely to pro- 
duce distraction and giddiness, resulting in a fatal fall 
to the deck. I can never look back upon that boyish 
adventure without a deep shudder, or without a feeling 
that the unseen Hand divine was upon me for good, 
steadying nerves and brain, and thereby averting a fatal 
result. While far from regarding myself as a child or a 
man of " destiny/' I love to think of myself, in both child- 
hood and manhood, as a favored subject of God's lov- 



Personal Life and Ministry. 65 

ing providence in common with multitudes of other 
praying and trusting ones. 

" In all my ways Thy hand I own, 
Thy ruling providence I see." 

A Solitary Combat. 

Very plainly I was not intended by either nature or 
education for a pugilist, a single fistic encounter in boy- 
hood being the only one of which I have any recollec- 
tion. My antagonist was Richard Endicott, a boy 
somewhat older and larger than myself, a son of our 
nearest neighbor, Captain William Endicott. Just what 
the ground of dispute between us was I have long since 
forgotten ; but the fact of our encounter has always 
been kept in lively remembrance, more, however, as a 
regret than a pleasure. 

We fought by no fixed or studied rules, for at that time 
the code of pugilistic warfare had not attained either its 
present perfection or publicity and was wholly unknown 
to us ; yet we fought vigorously, each striving to outdo 
the other. Enough to say that the contest was soon 
over, with no spilt blood, no blackened eyes, no swollen, 
distorted features, no broken knuckles, and no wild re- 
joicings over a fallen foe or a defeated rival, each being 
satisfied to call it a drawn battle ; nor was the renewal 
of our mutual friendship long delayed. Now, if boys must 
indulge in fisticuffs let me commend for imitation the 
encounter here described as one approaching a harmless 
model. Yet in this, as in drink and many other things, 
it is far better to practice total abstinence than give way 
to even the most moderate indulgence. 

A few years after this Richard and myself became 
widely separated in our lines of work, his involving the 
exposures and perils of a seafaring life, and mine the 
labors and responsibilities of the ministry. "Lost at 



66 Sunset Memories. 

sea," tells the sequel of his brief career. " Neverthe- 
less I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me," tells the 
story of my own prolonged life, natural and spiritual. 

Speaking of Richard's father reminds me of this in- 
cident: One Sunday evening, he and his daughter Je- 
mima were at home alone, the other members of the 
family being absent at church. He was just recover- 
ing from a serious illness; and, though not accustomed 
to read the Bible himself, he became very much inter- 
ested that evening in listening to the reading of it by 
his daughter. The effect was soon told by himself; for 
the meeting having closed, he hastily sent for my father, 
who on entering the captain's home found him in great 
distress of mind under conviction for sin. With trem- 
bling emotion he said, " As I was sitting here and my 
daughter was reading the Bible to me I felt that God 
came out of the Bible and came right to my heart [suit- 
ing the action to the word], and I want you to pray for 
me." That was a welcome opportunity to my father to 
pray by special request for one of his awakened neigh- 
bors and point out to him the only way of salvation; nor 
was the impressive lesson of that exciting occasion lost 
upon that neighbor or his family. 

Early School Days. 

The old neighborhood schoolhouse, with its ten-plate 
stove, unbacked benches, and long, rude writing desk 
extending across one end, is still vividly remembered. 
Standing aloof from human residences and from field or 
lot inclosures, it afforded ample playgrounds shaded by 
the natural bushes and trees surrounding it. Was it 
quite behind the age? Yes, behind this age, not that. 
Think of the changes in school buildings, school con- 
veniences, and school management which sixty and more 
years have wrought ! Yet then and there earnest, sub- 



Personal Life and Ministry. 67 

stantial, even magnificent work was done by both teach- 
ers and scholars. It was not a graded school. There 
was but one room. But grades as to ages and progress 
in studies were recognized and classified as best they 
could be. Many a solid foundation was there laid for 
future scholarship, which has since been wielding its 
good influence over not a few receptive homes. 

At least three of the teachers of those days require 
special mention. One was James B. Lane, a man small 
of stature, but not small in Christian culture and useful- 
ness. He was especially active in the temperance reform 
and the antislavery movement, each of them but newly 
introduced in the community. On me fell the honor — 
honor, as I now view it — of bearing from him to our 
home the first printed antislavery matter that invaded 
the neighborhood. I say invaded, for such literature 
was then and there decidedly unpopular, even my own 
father, who was wont to be in sympathy with all good 
things, treating it at first very shyly; but more light and 
further thought soon led him into full line with all true 
opposers of slavery, as of intemperance and the liquor 
traffic. Mr. Lane was the honored father of him who 
became the worthy husband of our elder sister, as set 
forth in a previous chapter. 

Another teacher to be noticed was a man of one arm, 
but otherwise possessing a well-proportioned and manly 
physique. His dexterous use of the pen and of the rod 
with that one hand was found to be very helpful as to the 
former, but keenly hurtful as to the latter. A well-re- 
membered and useful teacher was "one-armed Clifford," 
as he was often called. 

Still another was John Clements, a sturdy Quaker. 
His qualifications were understood to be of a high order, 
and under his instructions the pupils made good prog- 
ress in their studies. But though he belonged to the 



68 Sunset Memories. 

Society of Friends, he was far from being a noncombat- 
ant, as his unmerciful use of the birch, or rather the 
hickory, too often proved. The terrible flagellation 
which he once administered to a boy in the school was 
such as to remind one of the Psalmist's sad recital, 
" The plowers plowed upon my back ; they made long 
their furrows. " The lad quickly reported to his parents, 
who lived near by, and they in turn as quickly visited 
the teacher, bringing the boy with them. Laying bare 
his corrugated back, they confronted his cruel lictor with 
the 1 awful ridges and furrows which his hand had in- 
flicted. To my young eyes and those of the other schol- 
ars the sight was appalling, while it called forth the most 
vigorous imprecations and threats from the excited fam- 
ily and neighbors who gathered to witness the tragic 
scene. Who was that boy? His name was John; but 
he was certainly not the beloved disciple in the esteem 
of John the teacher. He was probably, however, not 
worse than the average boy; and, having grown to 
early manhood, he became a Christian and church 
member, entered upon a successful business career, and 
during many years has been known and respected as 
Captain John Rose. 

Sunday School Life. 

Between the Sunday school of my childhood and that 
of to-day the contrast is very great — much like the dif- 
ference between an acorn sprout but a few inches above 
the surface, and a tall, spreading oak in the fullness of 
a vigorous growth. Then were the days of its tender, 
feeble babyhood ; this is the age of its strong and well- 
developed adulthood. Then no room or rooms pre- 
pared with manifold conveniences and attractions of 
sight and sound greeted the little folks, as now; then 
no uniform lesson system or multipled "lesson helps" 



Personal Life and Ministry. 69 

and no well-trained normal teachers occupied their at- 
tention and ministered to their progress, as in the pres' 
ent day. 

Yet even then the Sunday school was far from being 
a useless appendage in church work. Among the most 
valuable acquisitions that ever came to me I reckon 
those which resulted from my early Sunday school 
studies. My catechism lessons, with scripture proofs, 
and the additional memorizing of verses and chapters, 
have proved an unspeakable service during the whole 
course of my extended ministry. 

Our first Sunday school room was the old " Blackman 
Meetinghouse," with its uncarpeted floor, rude seats, 
plain altar, high barrel-shaped pulpit, and lofty galleries. 
" Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth ? . . . 
Come and see." Ay, many were the good things which, 
even in those days, came out of that plain old Nazareth 
of early Methodism, planted there some years before by 
its devoted itinerants. Not insignificant among these 
good things were the rich golden fruits of its Sunday 
school work. 

My best remembered teacher as I was approaching 
my teens was Dr. Gilbert Hatfield, who had previously 
lived in New York city. Inclining to a rural home, he 
had removed to our neighborhood and engaged in mer- 
cantile business at Gravelly Landing, on the south bank 
of Nacot Creek (River), nearly opposite our own home. 
The interest between him and his class soon became in- 
tense, and as the time approached for the usual winter 
vacation of the school it was mutually agreed by him 
and them not to suspend their meetings or studies. He 
invited us to come to his own well-furnished home, 
where we continued to recite our lessons and receive 
his wise instructions. Seldom has a class of boys felt 
more honored than we did under this new and happy 



70 Sunset Memories, 

arrangement; nor is it too much to say that our associa- 
tion with this devoted teacher formed no unimportant 
factor in the question of our early conversion. Long 
since he passed on to his reward, but the fragrance 
of his cherished memory still lingers. 

Our next place of meeting was the new brick church 
erected on grounds donated by Uncle Henry Adams 
and lying but a short distance from the old location. 
As the time for its dedication drew near a deep interest 
was felt in the question of securing the services of some 
distinguished minister from abroad on dedication day. 
All thoughts spontaneously turned toward the Rev. 
Charles Pitman, the most eloquent of New Jersey 
native-born preachers, if not, indeed, of all the preach- 
ers then living in, at least, the Middle States. Could 
and would he come? He was stationed in Philadel- 
phia, and the journey to the place of dedication would 
involve a stage ride of some forty-five miles; for in those 
days there were no railroad lines, as now, between that 
city and the New Jersey coast. 

Great was the disappointment when it was learned 
that he could not be secured. Application was next 
made to the Rev. Levi Scott, afterward Bishop Scott, 
and he engaged to come. He was but little known in 
our section, but our preacher in charge, the Rev. Ed- 
ward Page, knew him personally and spoke of him in 
terms of high commendation, and my boyish ears were 
keenly interested in listening to his comparison between 
the two men. " Mr. Scott," he said, " is not as eloquent 
as Mr. Pitman, but is considered a more able reasoner." 

The people quietly accepted the situation and looked 
forward in lively expectation to dedication morning. 
Alas, the double disappointment! The hour of service, 
instead of finding a Pitman or a Scott in the pulpit, 
found only our own familiar pastor, as plain in person 



Personal Life and Ministry. 71 

and unadorned in speech as the reader can well imagine. 
Many other men would have shrunk appalled from the 
delicate and difficult task of standing in the place of 
either of those distinguished preachers on such an occa- 
sion ; but Mr. Page was a man of level head and steady 
nerves, and was thus well fitted by nature, as by grace, 
to meet the trying emergency which then and there 
confronted him. Nothing daunted, though deeply cha- 
grined, he preached to a large and disappointed congre- 
gation and dedicated the church, which thenceforward 
became our stated place of worship, the basement serv- 
ing for the Sunday school, prayer meetings, and class 
meetings. 

This was in 1838. Several years afterward a third 
church was built, larger and in all respects better than 
either of its predecessors, occupying a commanding site 
on what was once a part of father's shipyard grounds, 
and within easy speaking distance of the homestead in 
which the writer passed the period between his infancy 
and his call to the itinerant ministry. There stands 
that church to-day, an ornament to the neighborhood 
and a monument to the enterprise and liberality, the 
intelligence and piety of the people. 



72 Sunset Memories. 



CHAPTER III. 
Conversion and What Followed* 

]\ l\ Y conversion in 1837 was far more a change of 
* * * heart than of life, of nature than of deportment. 
Habitually prayerful and tenderly conscientious from 
my earliest recollection, I reached my fourteenth year 
in practice of the strictest morality, fearing God and 
working righteousness. Yet in my deepest conscious- 
ness I knew that not all was right in my inward moral 
condition. Never, perhaps, was the veriest sinner more 
pungently convicted of sin, external correctness plead- 
ing in vain for justification at the bar of awakened con- 
science. My heart seemed so sinful and, at times, so 
hard and unfeeling as to drive me well nigh to despair. 
My boy nature, considered by my friends so good, was 
constrained to give vent to its anguish in the bitter cry, 
so impressively versified by Charles Wesley: 

il Guilty I stand before thy face ; 
On me I feel thy wrath abide ; 
'Tis just the sentence should take place ; 
'Tis just— but O, thy Son hath died! " 

This emphatic " but " was key to the one saving 
clause to which alone my troubled spirit might cling; 
and, clinging to it through long and weary weeks of 
seeking, there came at length the dawn of a sweet re- 
lief. I say the dawn, for not till after several added 
months had passed did the full day open in my assured 
salvation. Not suddenly, but gradually and gently, I 
entered the eighth of Romans in which " the spirit of 
bondage " gave place to " the Spirit of adoption, where- 



Personal Life and Ministry. 73 

by we cry, Abba, Father." Very long, indeed, was the 
witnessing Holy Spirit in coming, but far longer has he 
been in abiding, the "every day and every hour" of 
more than fifty-nine changing years having been wit- 
ness to his witnessing and keeping presence. 

While praying and waiting for the clear, comforting 
assurance of my conversion, I had some doubts in refer- 
ence to uniting with the Church; but, finally setting these 
aside and overcoming my natural timidity, I went for- 
ward with others for that purpose, and was received by 
the Rev. Edward Page, already spoken of. In thinking 
of that important occasion and of him I have often said 
that, if the pen with which he wrote my name upon the 
records of the church were in my possession, I should 
prize it as one of my choice treasures. 

The circuit camp for the summer of 1837 was held 
in Hosea Joslyn's grove, as mentioned on a previous 
page; and to me it proved the most memorable one of 
my life, for it was there I first bowed at a " mourner's 
bench " in a tent on the last night of the meeting. On 
returning home a series of cottage prayer meetings was 
started at the house of " Uncle Josy Kindle," as we fa- 
miliarly called him, who, by a common wish, became the 
permanent leader. He was a plain, unlettered, devout man, 
having charge of Mr. Blackmail's sawmill at the end of 
the dam running south from his gristmill. Here night 
after night my seeking continued with the blessed result 
already stated. 

Combined parental precept and example had mucli to 
do in bringing about my early conversion. We were 
reared in an atmosphere of prayer and piety. " Provoke 
not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord," found daily honor 
and exemplification in our home. Spontaneously, with- 
out pressure or strained effort, we were taught great rev- 



74 Sunset Memories. 

erence for the Bible, family worship, the Sabbath, the 
Church, and the ministry. The visits to our home of 
the circuit preachers, as also of other ministers and 
good people, were always hailed with pleasure by 
parents and children alike. With such environments 
and associations, why should not the latter, while yet 
in "life's dewy morn," have given their hearts to 
Jesus ? 

Listening once to a recital by the Rev. Charles R. 
Barnes of a conversation between his father, of Jersey 
City, N. J., and a fellow-member of the same church, I 
was forcibly reminded of my own parents. 

" How is it, Brother Barnes, that your children, on 
reaching about a certain age, become converted and unite 
with the Church, whereas our children in growing up 
show a dislike to religion and become indifferent to the 
Church ? Yet we pray for them and habitually talk to 
them on the subject, urging them to become Christians. 
What makes the difference?" 

" I don't know," said Brother Barnes, "except that we 
certainly look for the early conversion of our children. 
We expect it as much as we expect any other desired 
and promised, thing; so, living to this end and trusting 
in, God, he does not disappoint us." 

Similar to this was the experience of our revered par- 
ents; and later on it became happily repeated in the 
writer's own home. Why should it not be thus, in every 
Christian family ? " For the promise is unto you, and 
to your children." 

Various Results. 

i. An abiding peace with frequent overflowing joy. 
"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but 
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 
This incident may sufficiently illustrate : Returning 



Personal Life and Ministry. 75 

home from a meeting one night full of joy and rejoicing, 
I went to my room and found Brother Samuel, two years 
my senior, but not yet converted, already in bed. Ac- 
customed to sleep together, I took my place beside him 
as quietly as I could, but unable to restrain altogether 
my rapturous emotions. For a while no word was spoken, 
except in my quiet ejaculations of praise; but the silence 
was ere long broken by a vigorous thrust of his elbow, 
accompanied by an equally vigorous protest in words: 
" I wish you'd get your shout out before you come 
home ! " Not very long after he himself became a 
happy partaker of the same joy in his own blessed con- 
version. 

2. A regular, devout attendance upon the means of 
grace, public and private. These, as intended, became 
a true nourishment to my young spiritual life; nor have 
they, even in old age, lost aught of their nourishing vir- 
tue. Secret prayer and class meetings — far more es- 
teemed then than now — were made specialties. The 
most formidable duty that confronted me was observ- 
ance of the Lord's Supper. Once only, through excessive 
timidity and a feeling of utter unworthiness, was this 
holy ordinance omitted, resulting in a condemnation of 
spirit which could be relieved only by days of deep hu- 
miliation, special prayer, and a solemn promise never to 
repeat such neglect. O, what unspeakable joy has come 
to me all through the years in a conscientious observ- 
ance of that promise ! 

3. Special desire and effort for usefulness. Having 
myself been saved, I longed and labored for the salva- 
tion of others, such being 'the genius of our holy reli- 
gion. " And let him that heareth [savingly] say, Come." 
While by reason of my youth and lack of courage I 
could accomplish but little, I earnestly sought to merit 
through grace a share in the honors and rewards of 



76 Sunset Memories. 

that rich encomium wherein Jesus so tenderly em- 
balmed the name of Mary: "She hath done what she 
could." 

My first attempt at vocal prayer in the presence of 
others has always been remembered with mingled mor- 
tification and gratitude. It occurred in a Sunday morn- 
ing prayer meeting conducted by "Uncle Josy " at the 
house of Joshua Smith, nearly all in attendance being 
new converts. After others had prayed, to my great 
surprise and discomfort my own name was called. What 
must I do ? How could I even try? Happily, I knew 
nothing but to obey. It was a very lame attempt from 
beginning to end, but it proved a very useful illustration 
of what I afterward more fully learned, namely, that "to 
obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the 
fat of rams." The ice was now broken for all that fu- 
ture use of my voice in prayer and exhortation, personal 
persuasion and preaching, which has covered so many 
busy years. Would that such use had been a thousand- 
fold more effectual ! 

4. Increased devotion to study. My thirst for knowl- 
edge had always been ardent, but now the desire for 
mental culture along with spiritual improvement became 
intense. In obedience to it a suitable desk with sta- 
tionery was provided, additional books were gathered, 
and a free use made of the pen as time would permit. 
At that plain desk many a composition bearing the im- 
press of a youthful mind and hand was written, not so 
much for public use as for personal practice and dis- 
cipline. Nor was that early habit of diligence in study 
ephemeral. Whether little or much has come of it, an 
unabated love of study kept pace with all the years of a 
long and active ministry, and now in this quiet eventide 
of life its constant companionship affords the same sat- 
isfaction and joy as of old. 



Personal Life and Ministry. 77 

Further Camp Meeting Experiences. 

The camp meeting which marked my awakening was 
followed, three years later, by another, held not far from 
my birthplace, Absecon. 

About two weeks before the time appointed for it, I 
had set out with Brother Joel on the schooner Isaac 
Enslow for a trip around the capes to Philadelphia, for 
a cargo of Schuylkill coal. He had recently built the 
schooner and had arranged to become her temporary 
commander, no doubt being entertained that the pro- 
posed trip could be made quite within the two weeks, 
and probably within ten days. The voyage was a pros- 
perous one till the city was reached, where the vessel 
promptly loaded; then the return trip was hopefully 
entered upon, no one on board seeming to remember 
those cautionary lines of Watts, " We should suspect 
some danger nigh where we possess delight." The 
" danger " awaiting us was an old-fashioned northeaster, 
so often the terror of sailors, which, meeting us on our 
approach toward the capes, drove us back, tossing and 
plunging, to find a harbor in Maurice River. 

Here we were very safe, but not altogether easy, for 
as day after day the wind continued unchanged the hope 
of being able to make a "run " in time for the meeting 
became more and more doomed to disappointment, 
which to my young mind, especially, involved a dire 
calamity. Was there no way of escape ? One, and only 
one, was within reach, namely, a tramp of more than 
thirty miles across the country over lonely, toilsome 
roads. Would not this be a great undertaking for a 
timid boy — traveling so far alone on foot, through an 
utterly strange region ? Yes, but as the renowned Kos- 
suth once said on a very notable occasion, " There is no 
obstacle to him that wills." So I willed to attend that 
camp meeting, and no obstacle within the limits of rea- 




78 Sunset Memories. 

son and religion seemed formidable enough to baffle my 
purpose. 

The time being definitely fixed for debarkation, my 
limited wardrobe was packed, and, taking for my motto, 
" Homeward bound, " I soon found my more than willing 
feet pressing the strange soil as I set forward with quick, 
elastic step. Leesburg was near, and thence a short 
walk took me to Port Elizabeth, where I paused to learn 
further about the way. The next village would be Ca- 
tawba, lying some ten miles distant; but as the sun was 
fast declining I could not hope to get so far till after 
nightfall, and hence to attempt it seemed to me to be 
both unwise and unsafe. 

Most naturally I asked, " Are there any houses on the 
way where I can likely find lodging for the night?" 
The answer was not a very assuring one; yet it seemed 
to afford ground for a reasonable hope : " There is one 
family living five miles from here where you can prob- 
ably be accommodated/' ' Then you feel pretty certain 
that they will be willing to keep me for the night ? " 
u O, yes, I think there is no room to doubt it," and I be- 
lieved my informant honestly meant what he said. 

Thus encouraged, I resumed my journey with quick- 
ened hope and step. At length the solitary house 
loomed up in the narrowing distance — a fair-sized and 
comfortable farmhouse with suitable outbuildings around 
it. Approaching, I inquired for the lady of the house, 
which soon brought us into conversation on the subject 
which just then was uppermost in my mind. Was I 
cordially received? The sequel must show. 

I found her full of excuses, but more full, apparently, 
of determined inhospitality, not to say inhumanity. In 
modestly urging my plea I told her who I was and 
whither I was bound; spoke of my willingness to sleep 
on the. floor if need be,' arid of money in possession to 



Personal Life and Ministry. 79 

pay for both lodging and food; reminded her of the 
near approach of night and of the long, dreary distance 
to the next town ; but her (womanly) heart was impervi- 
ous alike to solid logic and gentle persuasion. The 
husband, coming in from the farm, was consulted, but 
he manifestly dared to " be none otherwise minded " 
than to quietly submit to her sovereign decision, which 
submission fell also to my lot, but with this material 
difference: her decision in its bearing on his case still 
left him in comfortable quarters, w T hile its bearing on 
mine sent me out " a stranger in a strange land," to 
grope my way in solitude and gathering darkness as best 
I might. 

What became the future of that family I neve'r knew, 
and doubtless never shall until I come to read their life 
history with my own in the clear light of eternity. Long 
time ago my heart forgave them, and I also trust that 
long ago they sought and found forgiveness of God; yet 
it must forever remain true, that, if so happy as to be 
saved, their celestial blessedness will be diminished by 
at least so much as they failed to honor the divine rule, ; 
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Theirs 
was a fit opportunity to minister unto one of Christ's 
little ones, but they failed to use it. 

" Faint, yet pursuing." The crisis now reached was 
a very trying one, but necessity and a resolute will con- 
joined in pointing to the one practical and proper course 
of going forward; and go forward I did, "not fearing or 
doubting, with Christ on my side." The sameness of 
that long, dreary forest way was nowhere broken by 
sight of a human habitation, nor its loneliness relieved 
by word or presence of a human being, except as I met 
two men riding in a buggy, until at length a welcome , 
signal proclaimed my coveted approach to rest, . " Hark, 



80 Sunset Memories. 

hark, hark, hear the dogs bark! " neVer before had in it 
such significance to my mind, and never before had 
canine bark boomed out such music to my ear. " Ca- 
tawba must be near; " and so it proved. Here I found 
a commodious hotel, which I entered too weary for 
aught but rest and sleep, even craving hunger being 
held in abeyance by these stronger needs. Shown in 
due time to a room and bed, I committed myself with 
devout thanksgiving and prayer to the keeping of 
the heavenly Father and was soon locked in profound 
slumber. 

Next morning, after a good breakfast and settlement 
of bill, the new day's travel began with renewed strength, 
leading to May's Landing, thence to Hosea Joslyn's, 
and thence to the camp ground, where footsore and 
weary I found a warm welcome, notice of my coming 
having been given by Dr. Gill, who had overtaken me in 
his narrow sulky and had kindly conveyed my package 
to the family tent. 

At the camp meeting the three ministers who im- 
pressed me most were the Revs. John K. Shaw, Joseph 
B. McKeever, and William A. Brooks. The great Sun- 
day morning sermon was delivered by the first. It was 
ponderous in thought, yet animated in utterance, and 
left a deep impression upon the large, attentive audience. 
The text, as I recollect, was Mark xvi, 15, 16: " Go ye 
into all the world," etc. One illustration struck me with 
great force and has always been remembered. He said, 
u As I was walking out this morning among the trees be- 
yond the circle of the tents I saw before me a great 
cobweb, stretched across from tree to tree, obstructing 
my way; but with a stroke of my cane I brushed it aside 
and passed right along. Even so the Gospel, in its 
steady march to victory, shall as certainly break through 
all obstructions, Until its glorious mission is accom- 



Personal Life and Ministry. SI 

plished." Of this distinguished minister I shall have 
occasion to speak farther on. 

The afternoon sermon by young McKeever was 
founded on Num. xxiii, 10: " Let me die the death of 
the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" His 
tender subject combined with his devout face, voice, and 
manner to render the discourse peculiarly affecting and 
effective. The reading of one of his hymns, " Give me 
the wings of faith to rise," etc., seemed scarcely less than 
seraphic. To my young ears it was quite new; but I 
speedily committed it to memory, and it has ever since 
been a familiar and favorite guest. In less than three 
years his work was done. At the Conference of 1842 he 
was changed from Bloomfield, after one year's service, 
and appointed to Halsey Street, Newark. " Can one 
so young and so nervously frail endure the heavy strain 
of so large and responsible a charge ? " was the grave 
question concerning which many grave doubts were en- 
tertained. During the next Conference, held in New 
Brunswick, the preachers were all invited to meet at the 
railroad station at a designated time, to pay fitting 
honor to the passing remains of this deeply lamented 
young minister. It is a noteworthy coincidence that a 
friend standing at his bedside and witnessing his tri- 
umphant death should involuntarily repeat, just as he 
breathed his last, the camp meeting text of three years 
before above given. 

The labors of Brother Brooks at that meeting, espe- 
cially in prayer and exhortation, and accounts of his 
Christian experience, found way to many hearts and 
won them to Jesus. 

One of the most touching incidents of that meeting 
was the request which came to me from a young man 
of our neighborhood, Enoch Johnson. His heart, heav- 
ily burdened with a sense of sin, he said to me with 



82 Sunset Memories. 

deep emotion, calling me by my familiar first name, 
" Nicky, I want you to pray for me." We were both 
greatly affected as we passed out into the woods, where 
we,talked freely, then knelt down together and prayed. 
He felt i# a measure relieved, but not satisfied, and. J 
felt that a new and serious responsibility had come to 
t me. My advice was to present himself at .the altar as a 
seeker when the next invitation should be given, and 
never to cease seeking until he should find. He was 
afterward converted ^nd became an active, useful mem- 
ber of the Church. 



Personal Life and Ministry. 83 



CHAPTER IV. 

Semicentennial Address* 

PvURING the annual session of the Newark Confer- 
*-' ence held at Morristown, N. J., March 30, 1892, 
three members of the body, namely, the Revs. Richard 
Vanhorne, Abraham M. Palmer, and the writer, reached 
the fiftieth milestone of their Conference connection ; 
and under a resolution passed at the previous year's 
session they were invited to deliver semicentennial 
addresses before the Conference, which was done on 
April 2. The writer's address was afterward published 
in pamphlet form and sent to many of the ministers, as 
also to other friends. The substance of that address 
seems necessary to the completeness of this volume, but 
only portions of it can here be given. 

Address. 

Fifty-one years and four months ago a plain, unpre- 
tending youth might have been seen wending his way, 
in true primitive style, on horseback and saddlebags, 
toward his first circuit, there to enter upon his lifework 
as an itinerant preacher. That red-letter day in my 
life was December 4, 1840, three days before I w r as sev- 
enteen years old. After laboring on that circuit for a 
year and four months, under direction of a presiding 
elder, I was admitted on trial in the New Jersey Confer- 
ence in April, 1842 ; so that the present month marks 
the fiftieth anniversary of my unbroken Conference re- 
lation, while the whole measure of my continuous active 
work in the itinerancy aggregates fifty-one and a third 
years. 



84 Sunset Memories. 

The only rare or especially noteworthy feature in all 
this is the fact that very few have ever been permitted 
to render fifty and more years of unbroken service in 
the regular work and then pass to the retired list at no 
greater age than sixty-eight years and a fraction over. 
If other instances of the same kind are on record we 
shall be pleased to learn of them. 

My early recollections turn to the godly men who in 
my boyhood days traveled the old Bargaintown Circuit, 
or who came to it and preached as visitors. That cir- 
cuit in those days covered at least the whole of Atlantic 
County, embracing an area of six hundred square miles. 
It was a four weeks' circuit, and manned by two preach- 
ers. I was wont to look upon these men with the deep- 
est reverence as messengers sent from God to the peo- 
ple and to me. Among them were the following: The 
Revs. Henry Boehm, who became our venerated cen- 
tenarian, James Moore, Daniel Fidler, Peter Vannest, 
John Walker, William Lumrnis, John Henry, Edward 
Stout, James Ayars, James Long, Abraham Owen, George 
A. Raybold, Edward Page, by whom I was received on 
probation, Thomas G. Stewart, Zerubbabel Gaskill, 
Thomas Christopher, Jacob Loudenslager, Joseph At- 
wood, Abraham Gearhart, w T ho gave me my first ex- 
horter's license, David Duffell, Noah Edwards, William 
A. Brooks, and Josiah F. Canfield. 

My first presiding elder was the venerable Rev. 
Thomas Neall, a man of mellow piety, an earnest 
preacher, and a faithful administrator. When he sud- 
denly laid hands upon me to fill a vacancy on Medford 
Circuit I was holding an exhorter's license only, and 
had not attempted to preach except on the verbal 
authority of the Rev. Matthias Jerman, the excellent 
father of Mrs. S. L. Baldwin. He had invited me to 
assist him in revival services on the adjoining circuit ; 



Personal Life and Ministry. 85 

and, having reported for duty, I was soon honored, 
more than comforted, by his saying, "I want you to 
preach to-night. " With mingled surprise and fear I 
replied, "I have no license to preach," to which he 
promptly said, " I give you license ; " and when I sug- 
gested that I might expose myself to censure he sought 
to allay my fears by saying in his kind, assuring way 
that he would stand between me and all harm. I made 
the attempt and did the best I could on three successive 
evenings. A few weeks after this came the summons 
to forsake all and follow Christ in the great itinerant 
work. 

I became associated as junior preacher with four 
successive preachers in charge, the Revs. John W. 
Mc Don gall and John F. Crouch on Medford Circuit, 
Bromwell Andrew on Freehold Circuit, and Thomas 
McCarroll in Cross Street Station, Paterson, with which 
the two newly formed societies at Red Mills (now 
Areola) and Acquackanonk (now Passaic) had become 
incorporated. Fain would I pause to drop a tear and 
lay a wreath of affectionate remembrance upon the 
casket of each did the time permit. 

To these honored names I add two others toward 
whom I was called to bear the relation of preacher in 
charge on Madison Circuit in 1845 and 1846 — the Revs. 
Garner R. Snyder and Robert S. Harris. For many years 
their names in the New Jersey Conference have been fa- 
miliar and fragrant. The former has recently joined the 
church of the firstborn in heaven; the latter still abides 
and holds an honorable place on the retired list. 

Some reminiscences of the Conference of 1842, held 
at Camden, may not be out of place. It was a very 
remarkable one. Two of its members were tried for 
immorality and expelled; another, holding a prominent 
position, was charged with unchristian conduct, and 



86 Sunset Memories. 

only after a long, exciting trial was honorably acquit- 
ted; two others, young men on probation, were dropped 
for alleged imprudent conduct. The furies seemed to 
be let loose. 

This Conference was rendered especially memorable 
to the twelve young men who were admitted by it on 
trial; namely, Joseph B. Dobbins, Abraham M. Palmer, 
John D. Blain, Henry B. Beegle, Michael E. Ellison, 
Richard Vanhorne, Nicholas Vansant, David Graves, 
Fletcher Lummis, Joseph Gaskill, Charles A. Kingsbury, 
Henry Baker. A year later the last named two were 
discontinued at their own request, through failure of 
health. Brother Baker, the excellent father of Dr. 
Henry Baker, still lives at Pennington, greatly beloved 
for his goodness and usefulness. Dr. Kingsbury re- 
moved to Philadelphia, where he became eminent in 
the dental profession and prominent in one of our lead- 
ing churches. Within a few months he has passed to 
his heavenly home, full of years and honors. It is a 
noteworthy coincidence that the distinguished son of his 
Conference classmate of 184*2, with whom after a year 
he returned to the local ranks, was his last pastor, and 
as such officiated at his funeral. 

What of the other ten? Alas, death has also been 

busy here. Blain is gone; Ellison is gone; Graves is 

gone; Lummis is gone; Dobbins is gone; while only 

Palmer, Vanhorne, Beegle, Gaskill, and Vansant remain. 

" Time, like an ever-rolling stream, 
Bears all its sons away." 

True, O poet, true; but not true are the remaining lines 
of the stanza: 

" They fly, forgotten, as a dream 
Dies at the opening day." 

Nay, rather, "The righteous shall be in everlasting re- 
membrance." • ■■ Can we forget, our fallen comrades? 



Personal Life and Ministry. 87 

Never, never, "while life and thought and being last, 
or immortality endures." Separation has, indeed, come 
and must come; but separation only foretokens a con- 
scious, blessed, eternal reunion "in the sweet by and 
by." 

Who were the chief men of that notable Conference? 
Many might be named, but the time is too short. Only 
the champion debaters and a few of their associates can 
be mentioned: the Revs. John S. Porter, Isaac Winner, 
Richard IV. Petherbridge, Manning Force, Jefferson 
Lewis, W T aters Burrows, George F. Brown, William A. 
Wilmer, Caleb A. Lippincott, Thomas Sovereign, John 
K. Shaw, John L. Lenhart, Abram K. Street, Alexander 
Gilmore, Francis A. Morrell, Joseph Ashbrook. Others 
of scarcely less strength, but greater reticence, came 
gradually to the front and proved themselves worthy 
aids, and at length able successors, of the stalwart 
fathers, as James M. Tuttle, Crook S. Vancleve, James 
O. Rogers, Charles H. Whitecar, George Hitchens, and 
numbers more. (By the bye, the Conference had not 
at that time been invaded by the title D.D.) 

Three young men of unusual brilliancy and promise 
in that Conference became early crowned but a little 
time after: the Revs. Joseph B. McKeever, Wesley C. 
Hudson, and Lewis T. Maps. Fondly, sadly are they 
remembered by those of us who knew them. 

The marked changes which fifty years have wrought 
in Conference proceedings deserve a passing notice. In 
the earlier times it was not enough when a preacher's 
name was called in the examination of character for 
the presiding elder to answer, 4< Nothing against him," 
but each in his turn was expected to leave the room and 
remain without until representations of his character and 
work should be made by the elder, and often by others, 
in speeches of less or greater length. Imagine the time 



88 Sunset Memories. 

thus needlessly consumed. This rule is now wisely 
confined to candidates and those who are in their 
studies. 

The gathering of statistics and of the stewards' funds 
used to be attended to in the regular sessions, which 
again used up a great deal of precious time. This of 
late years has been obviated by a special afternoon ses- 
sion; but now even this is to be abolished and a new 
time-saving experiment tried. Success ! 

The speech -making in the olden times was far more 
restricted than now as to the number of speakers, but 
far less restricted as to the time occupied by each. 
Then the Conference had leaders ; now it has none, but 
every man is a leader for himself and without any breach 
of either law or courtesy may speak at will, though he 
be the youngest member of the body. Then there was 
no time limit, every man being a law to himself, except 
as necessity might sometimes ordain a limit, which it did 
on one occasion very notably when Bishop Morris pre- 
sided at the Bridgeton Conference in 1853. The order 
of the day had come, the subject being the very familiar 
one of Pennington Seminary, A venerable brother arose, 
charged to the full with an appeal of uncertain quantity 
in behalf of the institution, but before opening sug- 
gested that the many brethren outside of the church be 
called in. The laconic reply of the bishop was far 
more forcible than elegant : " They're dogged to death 
by so many long speeches ! " Such an episode in these 
times seems hardly possible, for, though our modern 
rifles admit of many speeches, they happily shut out the 
long ones. 

In signal contrast with the long speeches were the 
short published minutes of those earlier Conferences. 
Now a stout pamphlet of a hundred or more pages is 
required to publish our doings; then an unpretending 



Personal Life and Ministry. 89 

tract of a dozen pages sufficed for the same purpose. 
It was not until several years after our admission that 
the venture was made of increasing the number of 
pages to sixteen; then they grew to twenty; and thence 
little by little they have attained their present number 
and size. 

I rejoice that I have been permitted to grow old in 
the active service of God and the Church. It is not 
common for old men to sing hallelujahs over their ad- 
vanced age; but to me there is nothing terrible or for- 
bidding in three- score and eight or ten, or even in the 
ninety years and beyond of my father and mother, if 
one's heart may but keep young and his spirit sunny. 
The great German naturalist Alexander Humboldt, writ- 
ing to a friend not long before his death, said, " I have 
now reached a cheerless old age." Cheerless old age, 
indeed ! I cannot say this, and hope never to be com- 
pelled to say it. Rather, let the word be from this time 
onward to my dying day, " I have now reached a cheer- 
ful, trustful, happy old age." 

I thank God for my early conversion. Conscientious 
and prayerful from my earliest recollection, I definitely 
sought and found the grace of conversion when a boy 
of fourteen years, which was soon followed by my union 
with the Church. The pious lives of my parents and 
the devout worship of the family altar, together with the 
earnest preaching of God's ministers and the intelligent, 
faithful instructions of my Sunday school teacher, had 
much to do in bringing to pass that supreme event of 
my life. 

Warm and continual gratitude to God for my own 
early salvation has been intensified by his fulfillment of 
the ancient assurance, "For the promise is unto you, 
and to your children." This old covenant was signally 
verified to my father and mother in the youthful con- 



90 Sunset Memories. 

version of their two daughters and seven sons, six of 
whom became preachers, and four of the six members 
of Annual Conferences. One of these four is not, for 
eleven years ago God took him from labor to reward 
after an eminent ministry of thirty-seven years — a minis- 
try which is being worthily perpetuated in the person of 
a devoted and useful son. 

The same old promise was blessedly renewed in its 
fulfillment to myself and the wife of my youth. Our 
three sons, including an adopted one, and our three 
daughters were all early brought into saving union with 
Christ and fellowship with his Church, where they abide 
as members and workers. Happily, whensoever they 
visit the father and the present mother or we, in turn, 
enter the homes of the children sunshine never fails to 
meet sunshine ! 

I must reckon among the causes for devout thanks- 
giving the maintenance, through grace, of the conscien- 
tiousness of earlier years. This has held me steadily 
up to duty, though it has sometimes proved an incon- 
venience, and doubtless also a hindrance to popularity 
and promotion. Either this or absence of proper en- 
lightenment has repeatedly cast my lot with minorities, 
even very small ones; as when, in 1855, five or six of us 
only stood up for the " Troy Conference resolution' 
making nonslaveholding a test of church membership; 
and again, in i860, when the still small number of six- 
teen voted in favor of a footnote in the Discipline tak- 
ing advanced ground on the same subject. But how 
quickly the scales were turned ! In the General Con- 
ference of 1864 it fell to my lot to be a member of the 
Committee on Slavery, and there help by voice and vote 
to frame the rule by which slaveholding was made an 
absolute bar to membership in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and afterward to go on record with the enthu- 



Personal Life and Ministry. 91 

siastic, overwhelming majority that adopted the rule in 
full Conference. 

Finally, above every other consideration I magnify 
the grace of God in my personal religious experience. 
Part of the home theology under which I was reared 
distinctly recognized the doctrine of entire sanctification 
or perfect love as being at once scriptural and Wesleyan; 
and there were times in my earlier ministry, especially, 
when I consciously enjoyed the experience. But failure, 
through timidity or otherwise, to maintain the testimony 
as often brought with it a decline of the experience. At 
the Conference of 1875, in Jersey City, my heart was 
greatly stirred under the Sunday morning sermon by 
Bishop Bowman on prayer — a sermon at once scholarly, 
simple, beautiful, fervid, masterly. One illustration of 
the power of prayer was drawn from the preacher's own 
experience when a young Christian. Of a sensitive, ex- 
citable nature, his easily besetting sin was anger, which 
often betrayed him into sinful words and acts and brought 
distressing condemnation to his soul. This bent to sin- 
ning became a burden and a weariness too grievous to be 
longer borne. Then came the awful crisis; shutting 
himself in alone with God, he resolved on victory or 
death. After an agony of prayer, " with strong crying 
and tears to him who was able to save him from death," 
the victory came, his overmastering sin was crucified, 
and his soul saved alive, unfettered and free; for, said 
the bishop, "from that day to this I have not felt the 
stirring of anger." 

Not very long after this there came to me also a crisis, 
in which, under the teaching of the word and the illu- 
mination of the Spirit, there was disclosed to me a re- 
siduum of selfishness and pride and anger which startled 
and humiliated me beyond measure. Certain papers 
had been read and discussed before the Newark Preach- 



92 Sunset , Memories. 

ers' Meeting antagonizing the Wesleyan doctrine of en- 
tire sanctification as a distinct work of grace subsequent 
to justification. The effect was to beget in my mind a 
temporary doubt as to the soundness of the old tradi- 
tional view in which I had been educated. With avidity 
I read whatever I could find controverting this old view, 
and was only too glad to lay the flattering unction to my 
soul that, being justified, of which I had no shadow of 
doubt, I must likewise be already sanctified according 
to the Zinzendorfian theory. But ever and anon my 
happy daydreams would be interrupted by conscious, 
lurking carnality which I could not explain away on this 
theory. 

At length I was compelled to reopen the whole ques- 
tion and proceed in its examination on strictly scriptural 
grounds. No matter for the nonce what Zinzendorf 
taught or Wesley taught; what did the Bible teach ? On 
bended knee and with yearning heart I read and stud- 
ied the holy word, collating whatever bore upon the 
subject and, when needful, seeking the aid of the orig- 
inal. I searched and wept and prayed, with the dil- 
igence and zeal of one seeking for hid treasure. 

The first result was a vivid revelation and keen con- 
viction of my unsanctified state; the second was a clear 
discernment of my high privilege, with a deep corre- 
sponding sense of imperative duty ; a third followed, in 
a quiet, firm resolve to obey the voice of God through 
the Spirit and word, whatever might be the cost. That 
soon came in a deeply humiliating confession of my heart- 
felt need before a company of sympathizing friends who 
had been invited to come together for ten successive 
days, in order, by their counsels and prayers, to help a 
struggling soul into a larger, better freedom. Hail, 
glorious freedom, all divine; for, "If the Son therefore 
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed ! " This 



Personal Life and Ministry. 93 

and kindred passages now came to be suffused with a 
new, glowing illumination, which gave to them a beauty 
and significance such as I had not seen before. Xow 
my experience was brought into sweet harmony with 
their deeper hidden meaning. And with the passing 
years there has been a blessed, continual growth in this 
experience, never, I trust, to cease until the perfect day 
of earthly attainment shall merge itself in the full eternal 
blessedness of heaven ! 

With your indulgence I now pass from the effective to 
the supernumerary ranks. This I do uncomplainingly, 
cheerfully, and with a grateful appreciation of the kind- 
ness and confidence of my ministerial brethren, and of 
the churches and districts which I have served. If in my 
necessary seclusion you sometimes call me to mind, 
please think of me forgivingly, charitably, prayerfully. 
Think not of me as repining over any suspected or fan- 
cied neglect, but as quietly confiding for needed succor 
and care in the supreme goodness of God and the ready 
beneficence of the Church which I have so long endeav- 
ored to serve. Think not of me as idle or unemployed, 
with time hanging heavily on my hands, but as still dil- 
igent in study and ever busy with voice and pen, accord- 
ing to strength and opportunity, in trying to make the 
world better. Think not of me as gloomy or sour or 
morose, but as rejoicing evermore, continuing instant in 
prayer, and in everything giving thanks. And at last, 
when I am gone, O think of me as having swept through 
the gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb ! 

The official reporter of the Newark Daily Advertiser, hav- 
ing furnished the closing portions of this address for pub- 
lication in that well-known paper, added the following 
statement, which is given solely on his responsibity as a 
matter of history : 



94 Sunset Memories. 

" During the reading of these words there was a most 
pathetic and touching scene. Every member of the 
Conference was deeply affected, and many men bowed 
their heads and wept like children. There were cries 
of * Amen ' and ' Praise the Lord ' resounding all through 
the church, and there was not a dry eye in the build- 
ing." 



PART III. 

CHRONOLOGICAL GLIMPSES OF PAS 
TORAL CHARGES AND WORK. 



Chronological Glimpses. 97 



PART III. 

Chronological Glimpses of Pastoral Charges and Work 
— Medford Circuit, 1840-42. 

A LMOST instinctively on reaching my first circuit I 
-** gravitated to the home of Squire, later Judge, 
James Rogers, it being understood near and far that 
this was the Medford paradise for young Methodist 
preachers; and, in fact, for all others. Here a hearty 
welcome met the new boy preacher from the rotund, 
big-hearted host and his delightful family, consisting of 
the gentle invalid mother and two lovely daughters. 
The only son, William R., had entered the ministry 
nearly three years before. Through special invitation 
of the elder daughter, Anna, a visit was made to that 
home by those saintly Christian women, Mrs. Phoebe 
Palmer, of New York, and Mrs. Mary D. James, of 
Mount Holly, which gave me my first opportunity of 
seeing and talking with them. Not very long after 
Miss Anna Rogers became Mrs. Harlow, of Philadelphia, 
where she continued to live the same pure, gentle, beau- 
tiful life as aforetime, until that life expanded into the 
more beautiful, all-perfect life of heaven. 

In 1 841 a stranger came to Medford and organized a 
class in penmanship, becoming at length a successful 
teacher of successive classes. Uniting with the church 
by letter and " showing all good fidelity," steps were 
erelong taken to give him license to preach. The trial 
sermon was founded on the text, u I shall die in my 
nest " (Job xxix, iS). The Quarterly Conference 
granted the license, and also recommended him for the 
traveling ministry. In April, 1842, the New Jersey Con- 



98 Sunset Memories. 

ference met at Camden, and among the twelve young 
men received on trial, as already noted, were David 
Graves and Nicholas Vansant, recommended by the 
Quarterly Conference of Medford Circuit. 

On May 13-20, 1894, the seventy-third anniversary 
of the Medford Methodist Episcopal Church was held, 
which by invitation I attended. This afforded me the 
rare privilege of meeting some whom I had not seen for 
more than fifty years, among them being an old mem- 
ber of the Rogers family as I first knew it. He was 
then a young man in the business employ of Brother 
Rogers, a member of the church and notably useful as a 
singer. It was my double joy to call upon him at the 
same old homestead and again receive his welcome 
within its now venerable walls. It seems fitting that in 
his advanced life he should occupy the home of his 
young manhood, and should also be enjoying the public 
honors of his early employer and friend in being known 
as Squire Reading N. Wright. 

A visit to the sick room of that princely consecrated 
layman, the Rev. Wilson Stokes, was a great spiritual 
luxury. The bountiful entertainment in the home of 
Mr. Potts and family, the fraternal courtesies of the 
pastor, the Rev. Dewitt C. Cobb, and of the presiding 
elder, the Rev. George Reed, the cordial attentions of 
both the young and the old, together with the rich re- 
ligious services day after day — these are written indeli- 
bly upon the tablet of a grateful memory. 

Having by request furnished some " Recollections " 
for publication, I here repeat the concluding paragraph: 
" My pleasing task is now done, my assignment having 
been limited to recollections of my predecessors and 
contemporaries on my first circuit. That circuit for more 
than half a century has been circled in my memory with 
a peculiar halo of beauty and brightness, to which the 



Chronological Glimpses. 99 

late anniversary services have but added fresh luster and 
glory." One of my predecessors yet lives in a sunny old 
age, "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," the Rev. 
Socrates Townsend. 

In those days Medford Circuit embraced six other 
well-remembered places, namely, Marlton, Lumberton, 
Vincentown, Tabernacle, Hartford, and Atsion, some 
special notice of each of which would fain be given did 
not a lack of space forbid. 

Freehold Circuit, 1842, 1843. 

Territorially, this was very different from Medford 
Circuit, embracing over twenty preaching places, and 
extending in length from Englishtown to Point Pleas- 
ant, with a corresponding breadth — a large field for cul- 
tivation by two preachers, the Rev. Bromwell Andrew 
being preacher in charge. His colleague the year before 
had been the popular William P. Corbit. 

At Englishtown I found the Rev. Luther H. Van 
Doren as pastor of the old historic Tennent Church, 
who warmly invited me to visit him and preach in his 
chapel on Sunday evening, which I did, having in the 
afternoon held our usual service at the schoolhouse. 
Later he invited me repeatedly to speak in his church, 
which was done, his friendship seeming to be at once 
cordial and real. Could we build a church at English- 
town ? Brother Andrew heroically grappled the question 
and, aided by heroic brethren, successfully answered it. 
In November a glorious revival broke out here, which 
resulted in adding forty or more to the society. 

Freehold, which gave name to the circuit, was the 
county seat of Monmouth County. Here one of our 
chief laymen was Joseph Murphy, Esq., father of the 
Hon. Holmes W. Murphy, so well-known in legal cir- 
cles, and also as a member of the Ocean Grove Camp 



100 Sunset Memories. 

Meeting Association, etc. Of him I saw but little, as 
during that year his college attendance kept him most 
of the time from home; but in that commodious home 
I was often well-cared for by the father, mother, and 
•sisters. Here, too, was Father Rogers, with his good 
wife and daughters. His fervent piety, warm social 
spirit, and large musical talent won for him the confi- 
dence and good will of all. He and his wife seemed 
fairly entitled to be the parents of such sons as the Rev. 
James O. Rogers, one of our most popular and success- 
ful ministers, and J. Furman Rogers, one of our genial 
and useful laymen as I knew him. The Hulse family, 
with others, might also be mentioned as among the ear- 
nest supporters of our then struggling cause. 

Turkey, or Blue Ball, now Bethesda, had an old 
church of the primitive style, but a swarming congrega- 
tion. Sunday morning, from the number of both the 
conveyances and the people, reminded one of a great 
camp meeting gathering. In my diary, under the date 
of November 6, 1842, I find this entry : " Preached in 
the morning at Turkey, from 2 Cor. vii, 1. Felt con- 
siderable liberty ; had no class meeting in consequence 
of laboring with mourners, who freely came forward as 
soon as the invitation was given. O, it was a melting 
time ! " 

Upper Squankum, now Farmingdale, was not far from 
the center of the circuit. Here the pleasant home of 
Joseph Goodenough, Esq., gave frequent entertainment 
to the preachers, and but a short distance away from 
the village was the ever-open house of Brother Hance 
Herbert, accounted one of the wealthiest men on the 
circuit, as he was certainly one of the plainest. Associ- 
ated with his own family in this plain, substantial farm- 
house was that of his son-in-law, John B. Williams, an 
intelligent, vivacious, and useful local preacher. 



Chronological Glimpses. 101 

An adjacent neighborhood, New Bargain, became the 
favored scene in August of a wonderful camp meeting. 
A few extracts from my diary will illustrate : " Such 
were the mighty displays of God's power that one of the 
preachers, while delivering an exhortation, was prostrated 
upon his back to the floor of the stand, and some of the 
people fell to the ground : sinners were seen weeping 
in almost all parts of the assembly, and mourners with 
streaming eyes presented themselves at the altar for 
prayers. Many souls were converted during the meet- 
ing." "September 12. The Master of assemblies is 
still carrying on his blessed work. Meeting has been 
kept up every night somewhere on the circuit since the 
camp meeting, at which some souls have generally been 
converted." " October 31. I feel bound to speak again 
of the great things God has done for us since camp 
meeting. Several appointments have shared more or 
less of the showers of divine grace which he has so richly 
poured upon us. About one hundred have been added 
to the Church, the most of whom have been happily 
converted." 

One of the most eloquent and powerful sermons of 
that meeting was preached by the Rev. James Ayars, 
then stationed at Long Branch. As the trees of the 
forest are swayed before a mighty wind, so were the 
people of that great congregation by the breath of the 
Almighty from the four winds through the mouth of his 
servant. The effect was at once terrifying and trans- 
porting. The reader can imagine the rest. 

That the young preacher of the circuit should be 
pressed into preaching right "in his own country" was 
to him alike unexpected and unwelcome; but as he had 
never learned to say no to the voice of authority he 
tremblingly consented, taking for his text Jer. viii, 20, 
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are 



102 Sunset Memories. 

not saved." There afterward came to my knowledge 
two notable cases of awakening under the sermon — a 
man and his wife, who soon became converted and 
joined the Church, he being a teacher in charge of one 
of the schools near by. 

Dr. Thomas Hanlon tells this incident: When a boy of 
nine or ten years he lived in that same neighborhood 
with a family named Johnson. Being of Catholic parent- 
age, he was not, of course, allowed to attend Protestant 
service of any kind. One day a young minister called 
to visit the family, and, after talking with them about 
religion, he proposed prayer, the boy being present and 
listening to what was said. "That was the first Protes- 
tant prayer," states Dr. Hanlon, " I had ever heard, and 
the remembrance of that occasion has never passed from 
me." The writer of this, as Dr. Hanlon has often re- 
minded me, was that young minister. Was there aught 
in that prayer, though small as a grain of mustard seed, 
which contributed in any way to his early conversion, 
and thence to his distinguished career as a Christian, a 
minister, and an educator? "God knoweth. ,, 

Shark River, or Trap, now Hamilton. Here a great 
revival began on the first evening of January, 1843, and 
continued until over a hundred had professed conversion 
and united with the Church. "Upon the whole," says 
my diary, "I am led to think that I never before saw 
such an interesting, extensive, and powerful revival in 
any one such neighborhood in my life." It was not 
wonderful if a strong attachment under such circum- 
stances should spring up between the pastors and the 
people, expressing itself in a variety of ways. This was 
notably the case here; but details may not be given. A 
brief visit to this place in 1883 as the guest of Squire 
Cook Howland gave me the pleasure of meeting a few 
of the older people who still remembered me, and who 



Chronological Glimpses, 103 

told some amusing things about the naming of certain 
children forty years before. 

Manasquan, or Squan Village. On December 28, 
1842, a new union church was here dedicated, the Rev. 
Mr. Finch conducting the service according to the ritual 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church, following which 
came a very appropriate sermon by the Rev. James 
Ayars, founded on Psalm cxxxv, 13-18. It fell on me 
to preach in the afternoon, from the last clause in the 
book of Joel: " For the Lord dwelleth in Zion; " and at 
night the Rev. J. S. Newman, Independent, preached. 
Twice during the day the service was closed by the Rev. 
Mr. Cox, Presbyterian. Some revival followed the dedi- 
cation, a few of the converts uniting with us, but most 
of them with Mr. Newman's society. 

Point Pleasant. On our visits to this appointment we 
were often entertained, and always cordially, at the 
home of Squire Foreman and family, who kept one of 
the large boarding houses near the ocean for the ac- 
commodation of summer visitors. Though not members 
of our Church, they were frequent attendants and gener- 
ous supporters. 

Herbert's. This was the family residence of Abraham 
Herbert, in which a large room had been set apart for 
prayer meetings and class meetings once a week, and for 
preaching by the circuit preachers every two weeks on 
Thursday evening. It stood, almost in solitude, on the 
east bank of the Manasquan River and constituted one 
of the choice Christian homes of the circuit. The wife 
and mother was a model as a housekeeper and in her 
various other relations. Alas, that death should so often 
love a shining mark! Her departure was a sad loss 
indeed. 

Bennett's Mills. This appointment took us south not 
far from the old Bergen Iron Works, or Bricksburg, which 



104 Sunset Memories. 

has recently become noted as a health resort under the 
new and more euphonious name of Lake wood. Moses 
G. Bennett carried on an extensive business as the 
owner of a gristmill and a sawmill, and gave name to 
the place, he, with his family, being also prominent in 
the church. This neighborhood has been remarkable 
for the number of itinerant preachers which it has given 
to the Church. The first of these was Moses G. Ben- 
nett, Jr., who soon after our time there removed West, 
where he received license to preach, became a member 
of the Ohio and Cincinnati Conferences, and after a 
brief career of great activity and usefulness was called 
from labor to reward. Years later this same neighbor- 
hood sent forth the Rev. William P. C. Strickland, now 
an honored presiding elder in New Jersey Conference, 
and more recently the Rev. Marion A. Johnston, one of 
the promising young men of Newark Conference. 

Here I must pause, " for the time would fail me to tell 
of" Burrsville, Newman's Schoolhouse, White's School- 
house, Lower Squankum, etc., with various other places 
and persons of interest that pass before me in the vision 
of a fond recollection, prominent among them being the 
home of the preacher in charge graced with the pres- 
ence of his ever courteous and genial wife. 

I must, however, linger long enough to speak of two 
instances of providential deliverance which came to me 
but a few weeks apart. On Monday morning, Novem- 
ber 14, having started from Burrsville for an appoint- 
ment at eleven o'clock, I was suddenly thrown from my 
sulky, falling first upon the left wheel and then upon the 
ground; but providentially I received no injury. Being 
reminded of a remarkable dream in the life of Dr. 
Doddridge and becoming seated again in the carriage, I 
was led by what had occurred to preach from Psalm 
cxlv, 20: " The Lord preserveth all them that love him." 



Chronological Glimpses. 105 

The other instance is recorded thus in brief: " De- 
cember 29. To-day, while riding between Squan Vil- 
lage and Howell Works, my horse stumbled and fell with 
his foreparts to the ground, throwing the bridle quite off 
his head. The fright caused him to run at full speed, 
while I was left utterly powerless to stop him or to guide 
him; nor could I with any degree of safety venture to 
leap. The danger of the situation was greatly increased 
by the fact that the road in many places was rough and 
banked up on either side, making not improbable a sud- 
den upsetting of the carriage to my serious, if not fatal, 
injury. In this hour of extremity I lifted my heart to 
God, praying fervently for his gracious protection, and 
felt a comforting assurance that he would exercise it 
toward me. The horse, becoming wearied after running 
a mile, slackened his speed somewhat in ascending a 
hill, which gave me opportunity to leap to the ground, 
in doing which I was thrown down and slightly injured 
in my left side. With quickened speed the horse ran 
about three fourths of a mile farther to the Howell 
Works, where he was caught, having upset the sulky, 
broken the bridle and lines, and strewn along the road 
my valise, buffalo robe, etc.; but for all this I cared but 
little, the Lord having graciously preserved me from sud- 
den death. O how much I ought to love him! " 

Paterson, Red Mills, and Acquackanonk, 1843, 1844. 

I was greatly surprised on being told during the Con- 
ference at New Brunswick, in April, 1843, that I was to 
be appointed to Paterson as the colleague of the Rev. 
Thomas McCarroll. So it came to pass. My first stop- 
ping place was at the sign of the "Dog and Teakettle," 
next door to which the generous Horatio Moses kept 
a free boarding-house for Methodist preachers and other 
good people. A simple list of the names of his guests 



1 

J 



106 Sunset Memories. 

from time to time would require no inconsiderable 
space, among them being the Revs. George Coles, 
George Lane, Peter P. Sandford, William Roberts, John 
Kennaday, Daniel Parrish, Manning Force, James Buck- 
ley, James M. Tuttle, Charles H. Whitecar, John L. Len- 
hart, John Poisal, etc. 

A very extensive revival had taken place the year be- 
fore under the Rev. (afterward Dr.) Daniel P. Kidder, 
greatly increasing the membership of Cross Street 
Church (which at that time was our only church in the 
place), and extending its influence to adjacent neigh- 
borhoods, especially to Red Mills, now Areola, and 
Acquackanonk, now Passaic, at each of which it became 
needful to form a class and have occasional preaching. 
From this condition arose the necessity for a second 
preacher, which necessity was provided for at the next 
Conference, the lot falling on me. 

My principal fields of labor were the two outposts 
spoken of, lying about five miles apart, the former being 
the morning appointment and the latter the afternoon, 
with frequent evening service added; but on one Sab- 
bath in the month Brother McCarroll visited and 
preached at these smaller places, while his colleague 
supplied the pulpit of the a big church," as it was some- 
times called. At neither of these outposts had we a 
church edifice until the early fall, but used as our preach- 
ing place at Red Mills a large room fitted up for the 
purpose in the old-fashioned family residence of Edward 
B. Force, a brother of Presiding Elder Manning Force, 
who, with his excellent daughters, cared for it with a 
true religious interest. One of these daughters after- 
ward became the well-chosen wife of the Rev. Jacob P. 
Fort, whose lamented death was of recent occurrence. 
Here, on September 27, 1843, the new church was dedi- 
cated, the sermons during the day being preached by 



Chronological Glimpses. 107 

the Revs. John Poisa'l, Asaph C. Vandewater, and 
Charles S. Downs. Brother Force, our chief layman 
here, was aided by Brothers Joralemon, Gurnee, and 
others. 

At Acquackanonk we worshiped in an old, deserted 
ballroom until the new church there was ready for dedi- 
cation, which occurred not long after that at Red Mills, 
the officiating ministers being Drs. James Sewell and 
Noah Levings, with the Rev. Daniel P. Kidder. This 
enterprise w T as liberally aided by some of the Paterson 
brethren, as also by Mrs. Catharine Holsman, a wealthy 
member of our Church residing in the neighborhood. 
Active in all the work of the church was Hiram Blanch- 
ard, who also found fellow-helpers in the Kingslands, 
Devausneys, and others. 

One incident will serve to show the changes in feeling 
toward Methodism which time has wrought since then. 
I addressed a polite note to Dominie Bogardus, pastor 
of the Reformed Dutch Church, inviting him to attend 
our dedication, which was to occur on a week day, and 
requesting him to read from his pulpit an inclosed no- 
tice of the services. Did he come? If he did no one 
saw him. Did he read the notice ? If he did no one 
heard it, the whole thing being treated by him with 
silent neglect or — contempt. How marked the change 
since then in that Church and its later pastors! 

For the first time in my itinerant life I here enjoyed 
the satisfaction of having a steady boarding place, which 
was the genial home of Peregrine Sandford, Esq., after- 
ward Judge, on the west bank of the river in Paterson. 
The board bill, as also my appropriated salary of one 
hundred dollars, was promptly paid by the stewards. 
On my previous two circuits I was like the country 
school-teachers of those times who " boarded around/' 
Indeed, I seldom slept two successive nights in the same 



108 Sunset Memories. 

bed, and received as salary considerably less than the 
small disciplinary allowance; yet I was happy in my work 
and felt that I was well paid. 

Dover and Millbrook, 1844, 1845. 

I went to this new field with a double new experience 
— that of an ordained deacon, and that of a preacher in 
charge, the first ordination of our class, by Bishop 
Waugh, having occurred during the Conference held at 
Trenton, April 17, and my name not having been asso- 
ciated with any other in the reading of the appoint- 
ments, as formerly. This gave to me a sense of loneli- 
ness and of responsibility such as I had not realized 
before. The plan was to preach at Dover every Sunday 
morning and evening, and at Millbrook, nearly two miles 
away, in the afternoon. 

This being a single man's appointment, the preacher 
" must needs " have a boarding place, which for years 
had been the quiet, happy home of " Uncle David 
Sanford," his motherly wife and her maiden sister, 
"Aunt Barbara," with himself, forming the family. His 
well-kept store, containing the post office, was a favorite 
place of resort. Until a short time before that home 
had been enlivened by the presence of an adopted 
daughter, a niece of Mrs. Sanford; but, " once on a 
time," a certain agent of the American Bible Society for 
New Jersey came along and spirited her away — not 
in any evil sense — and Miss Elizabeth S. Morrison 
became Mrs. Hiram Mattison, and withal the step- 
mother of his four motherless children. Theirs was a 
happy married life for more than twenty-seven years, 
until he fell a victim to incessant overwork and died, 
November 23, 1868, at no greater age than fifty-eight. 
Between him and Dr. Mendenhall, late Editor of the 
Methodist Review, there were striking similarities of 



Chronological Glimpses. 109 

constitution, of character, and of tireless, fatal devotion 
to work. 

I extended the limits of the charge by establishing an 
appointment at Walnut Grove, now Mount Freedom, our 
preaching place being an old unoccupied Baptist church. 
Here one of our quarterly meetings for the. year was 
held by Dr. John S. Porter, the presiding elder. Here 
also I found and visited an old friend of our family, 
formerly of Atlantic County, and for some years a fellow 
local preacher with my father on the old Bargaintown 
Circuit, then, prosperous in business, holding a good 
social position, and very useful in church work, Brother 
Absalom Steelman. Great and sad changes had come 
to him; with his health much impaired and his financial 
condition utterly broken, he seemed but little like his 
former self except as to the great essential fact of faith 
in God and the hope of heaven. My visiting parish was 
extended still farther taking in Water Street, now Brook- 
side, where I found Father Clark, an old-time Metho- 
dist preacher, residing, with his son. A good place to 
visit. 

At Millbrook our leading man, financially and so- 
cially, was Brother Ulysses Kinsey; but devotionally 
the most demonstrative one was Brother Jacob Searing, 
whose public prayers were distinguished by peculiar 
earnestness. 

In November a new boarding place was assigned 
me at the home of Brother William Ford, where, under 
the kind attentions of his excellent wife and daughters, 
I was well cared for. This change was soon followed 
by another, involving the most interesting and important 
social event of my young manhood, the happy consum- 
mation of a marriage contract with Miss Amelia P. 
Moses, daughter of Horatio Moses, Esq., of Paterson. 
On the evening of December 9, 1844, a large assembly 
8 



110 Sunset Memories. 

filled the Cross Street Church to witness the marriage 
ceremony, as performed by the Rev. Thomas McCarroll, 
the sequel of which told of uncounted joys and, thirty- 
nine years afterward, of the one great, inexpressible sor- 
row of the writer's life. 

Madison, 1845-47. 

This was a compact, level circuit, comprising Madi- 
son, Green Village, Whippany, Chatham, Cheapside or 
Washington Place, with occasional preaching at White 
Oak Ridge, Hanover Neck, East Madison, and Logans- 
ville. Madison and Green Village had each a new 
church, while Whippany and Chatham had each an 
older one. At the other places named we preached in 
schoolhouses. Until the dedication of the Madison 
church, early in 1844, the preaching place had been a 
room in the umbrella factory of Mr. Henry Keep. The 
preachers on the charge when the church was built were 
the Revs. L. R. Dunn and Israel S. Corbit. 

My colleague for 1845 was Brother Garner R. Snyder, 
a thoroughly conscientious young man, a strong thinker, 
and a good, though not captivating, preacher. My 
diary contains this modest review of that year: "The 
year passed away very pleasantly, but without any sig- 
nal success of our labors; " which is supplemented in a 
later record by the statement, " The year was a good 
one." Brother Snyder died not long ago, after a very 
pure and useful life in the ministry of the New Jersey 
Conference. 

The diary continues: "At the next Conference, held 
April 26, 1846, I was returned to my old charge, with 
Brother Robert S. Harris for my colleague. This year 
proved to be one of decided prosperity, over one hun- 
dred souls being converted and added to the Church. 
The largest number of conversions took place at Green 



Chronological Glimpses. Ill 

Village, a pleasant society before, but now flourishing 
and truly delightful." 

In the summer of this year a union camp meeting 
was held at Hanover Neck by two circuits, Madison 
and Parsippany, the latter having for its intrepid 
preacher in charge the Rev. Edward Sanders. Was 
the meeting a success? No, and yes. The heavens of 
cloud and rain seemed to frown upon us, but the Heaven 
of heavens propitiously smiled. Our good presiding 
elder, the Rev. Daniel Parrish, when spoken to time after 
time about the weather, would give back the cheerful, 
assuring answer, "All's right that comes from above/' 
The preaching was "in demonstration of the Spirit and 
of power," the altar and tent meetings were excellent, 
and the result in genuine conversions very blessed. 

That justly celebrated camp meeting preacher, the 
Rev. Dr. David W. Bartine, could never before, as it 
seemed to us, have excelled, if equaled, his eloquent 
and powerful sermon at that meeting on " The Suffer- 
ings of Christ and the Glory that should Follow." Its 
effect can be better imagined by those who may have 
heard him on other favored occasions than described 
by me. That from the soil of New Jersey there should 
have sprung that distinguished trio of extraordinary 
camp meeting preachers, Charles Pitman, James Ayars, 
and David W. Bartine, is befitting ground, not for self- 
gratulation by any " to the manner born," but for special 
gratitude to the God of nature, providence, and grace, 
who was pleased to put this signal honor upon one of 
the smallest of the many States of this great Union. 
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little 
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee," etc. 

Following that meeting, revivals occurred at all the 
principal points on the charge— revivals in which my 
colleague, Brother Harris, proved himself eminently 



112 Sunset Memories. 

qualified by both nature and grace to be a soul winner. 
That he still lives, an honored veteran of the New Jer- 
sey Conference, after a long, active ministry of great 
usefulness, is alike gratifying to the writer and to all 
others who have followed his successful career from its 
beginning or for a shorter period. It seems proper 
to add that the great revival at Green Village, of 
which he was so important a factor, extended to what 
was known as " The Swamp," as also to Logansville, 
and laid the foundation of the society and church at 
Pleasant Plains, since then a part of Basking Ridge 
charge. 

Some of the chief lay workers in that revival need 
also to be named, especially Brothers Ellis Parcel and 
Levi Muchmore, the former of whom continued to live 
in activity and usefulness till a short time since. That 
he and his open-hearted, open-handed wife, still sur- 
viving, should have given two of their daughters to 
young preachers, the Revs. Sylvester N. Bebout and 
Jacob E. H. Sentman, then live on a goodly number of 
years to witness the true domestic happiness of each 
and the well-earned success of their husbands, is a mat- 
ter worthy of record and must have proved to both of 
them a source of real gratification and comfort. Brother 
Muchmore, son-in-law of Mr. Samuel Roberts, was less 
favored as to long life, he having died years ago, leaving 
behind him the wife of his youth, who still lives to cher- 
ish his memory in old age. Other families and friends 
can receive but a passing mention in the familiar 
names of Badgeley, Cochran, Lindsley, Brookfield, Be- 
dell, Moore, Mesler, Leonard, Absalom, etc. 

At Whippany our cause was small in numbers and 
ability; but warm hearts and willing hands gave encour- 
agement and help. The number of converts added to 
our probationers' list was twenty-two. Here such names 



Chronological Glimpses. 113 

as Norris, Cooper, Taylor, McFarland, Wildy, Magee, 
etc., were well-known. 

Two of our best homes were found at "Father 
Swaim's " and Mr. Israel Dickinson's, Washington Place. 
The latter was a warm friend and supporter of the 
church, his wife and children being members also. 
Here hospitality abounded. The writer, from leaving 
this family as pastor in April, 1847, was called in April, 
1892, to officiate at the funeral of the widowed mother, 
in her ninetieth year. What a life was that which she 
had led — kind, generous, devoted, useful! Her three 
daughters and the husband had passed on before, but 
her two noble sons, David and Bern, were left and yet 
remain to represent and illustrate her Christly charac- 
ter. One other, bearing the stamp of the same character, 
a venerable sister but little younger than herself, whom 
loving friends delight to call " Aunt Amanda," is joyfully 
" brushing the dews from Jordan's banks" in hope of 
the near crossing and the blissful reunion to follow. 

Father Svvaim was a man small of stature, but plucky, 
quiet, conscientious, persevering. His family at home 
consisted of himself, his gentle wife, and his only- 
daughter, whom we were wont to call "Sister Abby." 
In advanced maidenhood she married Mr. Baldwin, of 
Verona, and several years after died in the faith. Father 
Swaim's eldest son, John Sanford, had become one of 
our faithful and useful ministers, and he in turn gave a 
son to the ministry, named for the grandfather — Mat- 
thias. They both removed to Florida, where each came 
to a peaceful death. Father Swaim's younger son, Ezra, 
died in middle life, his widow, a sister of the Rev. Isaac 
Cross, still surviving to rejoice in the prosperity of their 
children, the only son being a successful practicing 
physician, Dr. George M. Swaim, of Chatham, N. J. 

Our services at Washington Place were held every 



114 Sunset Memories. 

fortnight, on Friday evening in the schoolhouse, the 
families named, with others, attending the Sunday serv- 
ices at the Chatham church. Some years before his death 
Father Swaim removed from the old homestead farm to 
a pleasant house quite near that church, where his 
peaceful, honored life was lengthened to almost a hun- 
dred years. 

Another interesting suburb of Chatham was White 
Oak Ridge, to which a few years before a great revival 
in the village had extended itself, bringing into fellow- 
ship with our church several important and useful fam- 
ilies, making the names Denman, Drew, Ross, and others 
pleasantly familiar. It is especially interesting to trace 
the history of some of these. In passing Sunday, De- 
cember 2, 1894, at Springfield, N. J., to assist the pastor, 
Brother William A. Knox, I found myself agreeably 
quartered at Squire Mulford's, whose genial wife told of 
having known me in her childhood when I was pastor 
of the Drew family, to which she belonged, at White 
Oak Ridge. The surprise and joy were mutual. 

In the Denman family there were four sisters, all ac- 
tive young members of the church — Harriet, Amanda, 
Carrie, and Hetty. The eldest became the wife of Jo- 
seph Cleveland, Esq., of Elizabeth, N. J., where her 
useful activity in the church continued, even with in- 
crease, backed by larger means and an excellent social 
position. For years she has been living in widowhood, 
and is now passing a quiet, cheerful eventide of life 
with her son at Bridgeport, Conn. 

The name of the second sister was early changed to 
Ross ; and after several years of happy married life she 
passed to her reward, leaving behind an only daughter, 
who in process of time became the youthful wife of Mr. 
Isaac S. Crane, of West Livingston, N. J. The third 
sister has been for many years the cheerful, devoted wife 



Chronological Glimpses. 115 

of Mr. Thomas B. Budd, of Elizabeth, whose sunny 
home is ever wreathed with welcomes. The fourth in 
our list combines abounding good nature with unbounded 
energy in health and with genuine Christian patience in 
sickness. She has been content to remain in single life, 
in which the " Friend above all others " is ever cheering 
her with the best of all companionships. 

In those days the Chatham church was very dependent 
upon its suburban supporters, Methodism having up to 
that time won to itself but few in the village as mem- 
bers or unfaltering friends. Among these few must be 
reckoned General Minton and his energetic wife, he not 
being a member, but a warm friend. Her death occurred 
years ago, but his not until recently. Here we also had 
Brothers Harvey Bond, William Green, and a small 
number of others not far from the church who could 
render spiritual and financial help. Some very familiar 
names appear on the old probationers' list of fifty years 
ago. 

In these glimpses we group Madison and East Mad- 
ison. To us a very interesting event was our first expe- 
rience in housekeeping. The modest hired parsonage 
stood on what is now called Prospect Street, the first 
dwelling from the corner of Main Street, south side. It 
was years ago removed. There we had some choice neigh- 
bors — Knapp, Mills, Sayre, etc. My wife became very 
intimate with that saintly woman, Mrs. William H. Sayre, 
on the corner, from whom she received many helpful 
attentions. Among the godly women of the church was 
Sister Ann Andrews, poor in purse, but "rich in faith." 
Precious is the memory of Brother O. Bagshaw and his 
wife, whose devotion to goodness and the church was 
limited only by their ability. Brother Stephen N. Ward 
was useful all around, especially as leader of the singing. 
It was fitting that one of the Drew graduates, the Rev. 



116 Sunset Memories. 

William Redheffer, should capture his granddaughter for 
a wife. Many others come to mind : Young, Matthews, 
Muchmore, Amzi Ward, Haslam, Dennis, Schenck, 
Squier, Larue, Shawger, Losey. Good friends were Mr. 
and Mrs. Keep, with their young daughters, Carrie 
and Camilla, and the aunt, Mrs. King. It is gratify- 
ing to be assured by the present faithful treasurer of 
the church, Mr. Charles L. Chovey, then a boy, that he 
has a distinct remembrance of the writer and his col- 
leagues. 

Methodist preaching in the schoolhouse at East Mad- 
ison antedated by several years all public service by our 
ministers at Madison, the result being that for many 
years the mother society at East Madison quite exceeded 
in the number of families and in financial strength the 
later-organized society at Madison. Coming here in 
the spring of 1845, we found in the former neighborhood 
the Hancocks, the Tunises, Budds, Genungs, Hedges, etc. 

" Father " Hancock, as we called him, was a rare char- 
acter — intensely conscientious, unswerving in his prin- 
ciples, fixed in his manners and habits, and very much 
given to prayer. Family worship at each meal was as 
regular as the clock that stood in the corner. In mak- 
ing calls at the parsonage he would always say before 
leaving, "Brother Vansant, shall we have a word of 
prayer? " and then add, " There is always time to pray." 
He began the work of preaching long before I knew 
him, and continued it until his strength failed him. 
Sometimes in very warm weather he would say, stand- 
ing in the pulpit, " Comfort before fashion," and, taking 
off his coat, would preach in his shirt sleeves. He was 
a prolific rhymer, displaying no little ingenuity, and 
sometimes true poetic genius. 

His two sons and two daughters, as I knew them, were 
imitators of the virtues of the parents. The elder of the 



Chronological Glimpses. 117 

sons, John Wesley, became an ordained local preacher, 
and in his later years was known as " Judge " Hancock. 
He was a devout, intelligent, true man, fully worthy of 
being the father of the Rev. John E. Hancock, of the 
Newark Conference, of Mrs. Daniel F. Hallock, of the 
New York East Conference, of another daughter promi- 
nent as a teacher in the city of Newark, N. J., and 
of another son, intelligent, respected, and useful as a 
layman in the Methodist Episcopal church of Madison, 
N. J. Father Hancock's younger son, Monroe, was a 
man of sterling qualities, a consistent Christian, honored, 
trusted, beloved. During several years prior to his death 
he was wholly disabled from active duty by shaking 
paralysis. His esteemed widow still lives in a green old 
age verging on fourscore years, the only adult member 
of this entire notable family, as I first knew it, who is 
yet surviving. 

Two other reliable and helpful families in this neigh- 
borhood were those of the Tunis brothers, Charles W. 
and W. Whitfield — the one a blacksmith, the other a 
farmer. Faithful in their attendance and regular in their 
contributions, the church could always depend upon 
them for needed cooperation. The elder brother's death 
about thirty years ago, in the prime of a vigorous man- 
hood, created a sad vacancy, which has been followed 
by the wife's more recent departure, leaving two daugh- 
ters and a son to honor the name, the latter till recently 
an active and useful member of the borough council of 
Madison. The quiet, industrious, exemplary life of the 
younger brother was prolonged to his eightieth year, 
ending in a peaceful death April 22, 1894. To him and 
his faithful wife, who died in 1879, were born three sons 
and six daughters, of whom seven are still living as 
worthy representatives of the dead, yet speaking, parents. 
Their unvarying habit of family worship morning and 



118 Sunset Memories. 

evening of each day, combined with right living, left a deep 
impress for good upon the whole family. The eldest 
son, Captain Edward C. Tunis, died suddenly in Jan- 
uary, 1893, leaving behind an honorable record as a 
soldier and officer in the Union army, postmaster at 
Madison, N. J., under the Arthur administration, etc. 

In the list of twenty-six probationers for 1846 repre- 
senting the two Madisons appears the name of Melissa 
W. Budd, behind which stands an interesting item of 
unwritten history. In early girlhood she lived with her 
maternal grandmother Ward, who was a staunch Presby- 
terian, with the very strong prejudices against Metho- 
dism so common in those times. But her father, Vincent 
B. Budd, was among " the true and the tried " of our 
brethren; and the daughter, having become a happy 
convert among us, very naturally desired to unite with 
the- father's Church. For a time the opposition to this 
was vigorous and persistent, but at length her own 
prayerful and consistent choice prevailed. To tell the 
whole sequel would require many words, but only few 
can be used. She afterward became the wife of Henry 
W. Pierson, who, with herself, held useful membership in 
the Madison church for a considerable time, and then 
took their letters to the Chatham church, in which for 
years he has been a leading officer, and she among the 
most active, influential, and best-loved of its sister- 
hood. 

These glimpses of Madison must close with this ex- 
tract from my diary: " I would here record, especially, 
the extreme kindness of my friend and brother, Isaac 
Faulks, and his good lady, with whom my wife remained 
during my absence at Conference and for some time 
afterward. Their unwearied attention to her during a 
sickness of several weeks calls forth my warmest grati- 
tude. May heaven abundantly reward them! " 



Chronological Glimpses. 119 

Bloomfield, 1847-49. 

Bloomfield, in the Minutes, then meant West Bloom- 
field, now Montclair, and the old stone church in Morris 
neighborhood, with Speertown as a schoolhouse ap- 
pointment. The church at Bloomfield proper was quite 
an after consideration. The stated Sunday work con- 
sisted of preaching three times and walking three miles, 
with frequent leading of a class. 

Among our principal families were Crane, Doremus, 
Taylor, Sandford, Wilde, Pierson, Coit, Barton, Cockefair, 
Rusby, Marr, Reford. The Rev. John N. Crane, of pre- 
cious memory, had gone forth from the excellent home of 
his father, Josiah Crane, to enter the itinerancy; and even 
greater honor came to " Father " Coit and his devoted wife 
in the call of two of their sons to the same work. Years 
since the Rev. John S. Coit finished his course, leaving 
to the Church and the community a family of rare merit; 
while the Rev. Charles S. Coit still lives in a vigorous, 
happy, and useful old age. And the honor seems suc- 
cessive, for the only son of the latter, the Rev. Olin B. 
Coit, occupies an honorable position in the active min- 
isterial ranks. 

The youngest and one of the most earnest members 
of our official board was Brother John Rusby. He had 
always found himself too busy to give attention to the 
subject of marriage ; but, having now concluded that he 
must seek a wife, he made a quiet confidant of his pastor, 
telling me freely what was in his thought and seeking 
some needed help. Among our lady members was one 
whom we familiarly called " Sister Abbie," a super- 
excellent girl, who, all unconsciously, had been made an 
object of furtive glances by the only young man in the 
congregation who was worthy of her love. What . he 
wanted to be certain of was that no one had entered the 



120 Sunset Memories. 

race before him, and he detailed me to ascertain 
the situation, which very soon after I delicately did 
through her sister, one of our best members, with 
whom she made her home. My report was very sat- 
isfactory, and was followed by a correspondence and 
occasional interviews (for many of the latter he was 
too busy), which resulted in an early engagement and 
a short courtship, crowned by a marriage of eminent 
and long-continued felicity. Well nigh a half century 
has passed since Miss Abbie Holmes became Mrs. 
John Rusby. Many children have come to that home, 
among them a son whose name stands in the list of 
honored members of the Newark Conference, Samuel 
O. Rusby. 

Our nearest neighbor at the left was a venerable 
local preacher, the Rev. John Lee, intelligent and tal- 
ented. He loved to preach, and his sermons were 
quite above the average. Opposite the parsonage was 
another family with which we were drawn into close 
relations. The wife and mother, Mrs. Littell, though 
belonging to another Church, acted the part of a true 
sister or mother toward my wife, who was much her 
junior. 

The one event of chief personal interest to us during 
our residence here was the advent of our firstborn living 
child, whom we named Fannie, in honor of Miss Fannie 
McElwee, of Paterson, an intimate friend of the mother 
and one of the two young ladies who had officiated as 
bridesmaids at her marriage. She has quite outlived 
both the mother and the child, and, though much 
afflicted, she is waiting in cheerful patience and hope 
until her change shall come. Her associate brides- 
maid, Miss Jane Smylie, became Mrs. C. T. Vander- 
voort, and after a brief married life passed to her heav- 
enly rest. 



Chronological Glimpses. 121 

Woodrow, Staten Island, N. Y., 1849-51. 

This was a new charge, one pastor having previously 
been preacher, in charge at both Woodrow and Bethel 
Churches; now they were separated and a pastor ap- 
pointed to each. The support of two preachers, instead 
of one, as formerly, was looked upon as a serious experi- 
ment; but the new arrangement worked surpassingly 
well, each pastor — the Rev. Mulford Day at Bethel, and 
myself at Woodrow — receiving an ample support. In- 
deed, although my annual appropriation was only three 
hundred dollars and a visit, I left the charge with more 
clear money in my pocket than ever before or ever since, 
with a possible exception or two. The secret was that 
very much of our living was supplied by the generous 
gifts of the people, reducing our table expenses, horse 
keeping, etc., well-nigh to a minimum of cost to us. 

Besides the regular preaching services at Woodrow 
Church every Sunday morning and afternoon or even- 
ing, I made appointments at Bloomingview, now Hugue- 
not, Newtown, now Gifford's, -and Androvett's, now 
Kreischerville, where we had a flourishing class. At 
Bloomingview we also had a good class, which met 
at Mother Cole's, widow of the Rev. William Cole, a 
widely known and very useful ordained local preacher. 
The two daughters, Mrs. Mary Ann Cole, a widow, and 
Miss Jane Cole, who years afterward became the wife 
of the Rev. William M. Sandford, of Belleville, N. J., lived 
in the old homestead with the aged mother. O how 
many were the delightful visits which we enjoyed in 
that consecrated home! It became needful to appoint 
a new leader for this class. Who should be selected? 
My thoughts turned toward one of our younger men, 
but he most earnestly begged to be excused. Feeling 
assured, however, of his integrity, intelligence, and fit- 



122 Sunset Memories. 

ness all around, I prepared a new class book, entering 
the name of James Eddy as leader. He has since been 
living all through the years a trusted and useful officer 
of Woodrow Church, a worthy brother of Samuel Eddy, 
Esq., of Morristown, N. J., so well-known in religious, 
social, and business circles. 

Newtown was rendered a point of special interest by 
the residence of Father Boehm very near the school- 
house where, every two weeks, our services were held on 
Sunday afternoon. His family was four in number — 
himself and cheery wife, Aunty Boehm, with two of the 
daughters, Misses Lizzie and Sarah, who had given to 
their cozy home the poetic title of " Sweetbriar Cot- 
tage." Here ready and entertaining conversation never 
languished, a strong social element being always a 
prominent feature of the place. The youngest daugh- 
ter, Miss Mary, had just been captured for wifehood by 
the Rev. Amos N. Mulnix, of the New York Confer- 
ence — a happy marriage, resulting, among many other 
good things, in giving to the Church another minister, 
the Rev. Henry Boehm Molyneaux (Mulnix). Sarah 
in course of time became Mrs. Wood, and afterward 
Mrs. David Teed. Removing to the West, one of 
her daughters became the wife of one of our ministers 
there. Lizzie, Father Boehm's eldest daughter, was 
well-known for several years as Mrs. Emley, she and 
her gentlemanly husband frequently ministering to her 
father's comfort in his very old age. Father Boehm 
had one son, Henry Martin, who died before reaching 
middle life, leaving a wife and one daughter. He was 
at the head of a select school for boys at Fresh Kill, 
now Green Ridge. His capabilities were of a high 
order. By no other man have I ever heard the Declara- 
tion of American Independence read so grandly as once 
by him. It was at the home of his widow that our ven- 



Chronological Glimpses. 123 

erated centenarian breathed his last December 28, 

South of Father Boehm's, near Great Kills and over- 
looking Sandy Hook Bay, was another delightful visit- 
ing place, Captain Abrain Cole's. He was an invalid, 
shut out from all business and shut within the precincts 
of his own quiet home. Here the pastor, with his 
family, was always made welcome by the generous host 
and hostess. Years after the parents had passed away 
a call at the old place by the writer and his sons on a 
little yachting expedition was met with the old warmth 
of welcome from the son residing there. It was far 
more than a social pleasure, it was a true spiritual com- 
fort, to learn that Cornelius Cole was a Christian and 
active in church work, though in another communion. 

Pleasant Plains was then a part of Woodrow charge 
and had a good vigorous class, of which Brother Israel 
Laforge was leader, assisted by Brother J. K. Avis. 
That was the nucleus of a church and of a separate 
charge, which became verities but a few years after- 
ward ; since which time that good, compact society has 
been giving a comfortable support to successive pastors 
and making a creditable record of usefulness in church 
work generally. 

At Androvett's great changes afterward came. A 
chapel was built and for a time profitably used; but at 
length Methodism in organized form was completely 
crowded out by the foreign element which settled about 
the brick factories at Kreischerville. 

Rossville was not then a preaching place, though it 
was the chief village within the bounds of the charge, 
located on the Staten Island Sound near the principal 
steamboat landing, and the post office center of quite 
an extensive population. Here we had a class of which 
Brother Mark Winant was the leader, at whose house 



124 Sunset Memories. 

the meetings were held. He gave one of his daughters 
in marriage to Mr. Reed Benedict, who since then has 
become prominent in business and a chief supporter of 
Grace Church at Port Richmond, Staten Island. Most 
of the family removed to California. My first arrival at 
Rossville was marked by a unique event. A young 
man who had died elsewhere was to be brought here 
for burial from St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church, 
the mother being a member of that communion. But 
St. Luke's was without a rector, and I was the only 
minister within reach ; so I was invited by those in 
charge of the church to officiate, which I did, having 
the full freedom of chancel, reading desk, and pulpit. 
The first entry in my memorandum book for that charge 
was this: " May 3, 1849. Funeral of Mrs. Jackson's, 
son. Job xvi, 22." 

My pastorate here was rendered memorable by a two- 
fold enterprise — the payment of the church debt of 
about $1,200, and the building of a new parsonage. 
The subscriptions toward the debt, as my book shows, 
stand in connection with one hundred names less three, 
the sums ranging from twenty-five dollars down to 
twenty-five cents. This, of course, means work in both 
soliciting and collecting the subscriptions; but it was 
work involving far less of wear and tear of body, mind, 
and conscience than the holding of fairs, festivals, etc., 
would have necessitated. Indeed, these things had not 
in those days become at all fashionable in Methodist 
circles, so that an attempt to raise money for the Lord's 
cause by such means would have greatly shocked, not 
to say paralyzed, the average Methodist church. The 
change since then is marked, even marvelous; who 
shall say it is for 'the better? To the writer, at least, it 
is a real satisfaction to look back and remember that 
by means of plain, honest, loving appeals, followed by 



Chronological Glimpses. 125 

the direct payment of hard cash, we freed the Lord's 
house from the incubus of a troublesome debt without 
resorting to doubtful expedients. 

• Woodrow had had a church for more than sixty years, 
but had never owned a parsonage. Now the need of 
one was sorely felt, especially as the renting of a suitable 
house was found to be impracticable. The two occupied 
by us during our time there were quite below the grade 
of suitableness, but were the best that could be obtained 
under the circumstances. So, with the church debt 
provided for, vigorous steps were taken toward the erec- 
tion of a parsonage, the land for which, adjoining the 
church lot, was surveyed January 6, 1851. My successor 
in the following April was the Rev. Wesley Robertson, 
who was the first to occupy the new building, which 
after a few years was enlarged to its present size. 

Under date of March 17 my diary contains this entry: 
" Twenty-three have joined as the fruit of our late extra 
effort, and others will. Our net increase for the two 
years will be about forty.' 5 Woodrow Church at that 
time had an extensive parish, embracing a considerable 
number of strong men and interesting, influential fam- 
ilies. Among the young men no one, perhaps, was more 
worthy of special mention for nobleness of spirit, warmth 
of friendship, and open-handed generosity than Brother 
I. Washington Cole; and no lady proved herself more 
thoughtfully appreciative than did Mrs. Moore in her 
recognition of the services at Newtown, though she be- 
longed to another Church — the special form of recogni- 
tion being a set of silver spoons bearing the inscription 
u X. V.," a gift as useful as it was beautiful. 

Belleville, X. J., 1851, 1852. 

In Methodist annals this was old historic ground. 
Some years before the planting of Methodism in Xewark 
9 



126 Sunset Memories. 

it had taken root in Belleville, whence it spread to New- 
ark and other adjacent localities. Prominent in its early 
history was the Rev. John Dow, who, with his large 
family, held a commanding influence. I found there a 
plain, substantial church edifice, built of brick and dedi- 
cated a few years before by the Rev. Charles Pitman, 
his sermon, as I remember, being founded on Isaiah 
xxv, 9. The membership was neither very large nor 
remarkably harmonious. The following names repre- 
sent the chief members and families of the church: 
B rower, Williams, Sandford, Collard, Holmes, Whitefield, 
Bennett, Osborn, Coeyman, Lyle, Nuttall, Ackerman, 
Tice, Kinney, Crissey, Cole, Negles, King. 

On the opposite side of the Passaic River, near the 
present borough of Arlington, was the inviting home of 
Mrs. Condict, a lady of wealth who held membership 
in another communion; but her great desire to be useful 
led her to fit up a room in her commodious house for 
Sunday school purposes. The result was a well-attended, 
orderly school, under the wise and efficient superintend- 
ence of Brother Hugh Holmes. In this neighborhood 
lived our faithful milkman, Mr. Morgan, from whom and 
whose family came generous support to the church ; 
and here occasional preaching services during the week 
were arranged for. 

But our chief week-night appointment was Mont- 
gomery, lying west of Belleville on the way to Bloom- 
field. Here we preached every other Friday evening 
to a fair-sized congregation; and here were the Vree- 
land, Blarney, Crisp, Winne, Furlong, and other families. 

The longest vacation of my ministry occurred in the 
summer of this year. It was planned by my wife's 
noble, generous-hearted uncle, Mr. Lorenzo Moses, of 
New York, a staunch Presbyterian, but with a warm 
side toward all good people. Our party was to consist 



Chronological Glimpses. 127 

of his good wife, whom we always enjoyed calling "Aunt 
Eliza," together with my wife and myself, the uncle 
making me treasurer of the funds which he deemed 
needful for our trip. 

So on the morning of July 15 we took train at Pater- 
son, on the New York and Erie Railway, for Buffalo, 
via Dunkirk, which meant a steamboat ride of forty 
miles on Lake Erie, mostly before daylight the next 
morning; for then there were no trains running direct to 
Buffalo. Our objective point w r as Lockport, thirty-one 
miles farther on. But how could we reach it ? Only by 
canal packet, quite a new mode of travel to us. At 
10 a. m. we embarked, and reached our destination at 
4 p. m., after a really enjoyable trip, followed by one of 
the warmest of welcomes from Mr. Marcus Moses, who 
took us at once to his pleasant home, where a week's 
entertainment of the best type awaited us. He was a 
cousin to my father-in-law and to the uncle spoken of. 
When Sunday morning came I preached by previous 
invitation to a large congregation for the Rev. Mr. 
Kingsley, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
who also insisted on my preaching in the afternoon 
and so announced to his people. Besides doing this, 
I attended service in the Episcopal church at 2:30 p. m., 
and at night heard the Rev. Mr. Wisner, Presbyterian, 
preach in his large church, where I was invited to offer 
the opening prayer. Thus I had a very busy day. 

What would visiting strangers at Lockport now think 
of being obliged to reach Niagara Falls, twenty-two 
miles distant, by horses and carriage as the only mode 
of conveyance? A connecting railroad came later. My 
diary shows how we passed Monday, July 21: "Set off 
at 7 a. m. for Niagara Falls, arriving about 11. Spent 
considerable time on Goat Island, passing quite around 
it in our carriage. After dinner crossed by suspension 



128 Sunset Memories. 

bridge to Canada side, viewed falls, rode down to whirl- 
pool, thence to Brock's monument and Queenstown, 
where crossed another*suspension bridge to the States, 
rode down to Youngstown, thence to Fort Niagara, 
through which we were shown by one of the officers, and 
thence returned to Lockport, arriving about up. m." 

After two more days added to our delightful visit 
here, we left by packet for Rochester, accompanied by 
" Cousin Nancy " and daughter, to visit other cousins 
in that city — Dr. Moses, Councilman Schuyler Moses, 
Mr. Dunn and wife, etc. Saturday afternoon I received 
a call from three of the Methodist pastors — the Rev. 
Messrs. Copeland, Alden, and another whose name has 
escaped me — each of whom made request for help in 
his pulpit on the next day. I found Brother Copeland's 
church, known as "the chapel," a very large building, 
with a good congregation, to which I preached at 10:30 
a. m., though with great difficulty, being very hoarse. In 
the afternoon I preached for the brother whose name 
I have forgotten over a store in North Street, and at 
night for Brother Alden in a new church west of the 
canal. On Monday came- a packet excursion of thirty- 
seven miles to Mount Morris to visit still other cousins. 

The next day a carriage ride of fourteen miles took 
us to Portage, to see the falls with their wonderful 
scenery, and to visit other friends. Returning to Mount 
Morris, we took packet toward evening on our return 
trip to Rochester, where the next morning we boarded a 
train for New York, with many sweet recollections of the 
places and friends visited and the new acquaintances 
formed. Saturday, August 2, found us snugly fixed 
again in the parsonage at Belleville, after a twenty days' 
vacation packed all full of marvelous sightseeing, social 
enjoyment, and Christian work. 

The most blessed event of this Conference year was 



Chronological Glimpses. 129 

the glorious revival that came to us, in which, according 
to my recollection, fifty or more, mostly young persons, 
professed conversion. Many of our meetings were of 
intense interest and of great power. Under date of 
Sunday, April 4, 1852, I wrote: " Memorable Sabbath! 
Preached from Prov. iv, 18, 'The path of the just,' etc., 
after which I baptized eight of the converts and admin- 
istered the Lord's Supper. In the afternoon attended 
Sunday school prayer meeting, at close of which the 
converts presented me a large and beautiful Bible." 
That venerated book was adopted as our chief family 
Bible, in which the family record has been kept from 
that time to the present. It bears upon its front cover 
this affectionate inscription : " Presented to Rev. Nicholas 
Vansant by the converts of the M. E. Church, Belleville, 
N. J." Seldom, if ever, have I seen a more happy or 
more united company of young converts than were they; 
but a sorrowful surprise awaited both them and their pas- 
tor in the near future, as will be shown by what follows. 

New Brunswick, 1852-54. 

" The providence of God moves in mazes intricate, 

Eccentric, intervolved; yet regular 

The most, when most irregular they seem." 

A sturdy Christian faith is bound to accept this as 
true, since it accords so fully with the inspired declara- 
tion of the psalmist: " Clouds and darkness are round 
! about him: righteousness and judgment are the habita- 
tion of his throne." The clouds and darkness are ap- 
parent, being objects of sense or of reason ; but the 
righteousness and judgment so often obscured by these 
clouds and darkness can be perceived only by a faith 
keen enough and strong enough to penetrate them and 
to read unswerving rectitude in God's eternal throne. 
Such a faith was needed by the church at Belleville, and 



130 Sunset Memories. 

especially by its new converts, in the spring of 1852, 
under the strangely sudden removal of their pastor. 

He went to Conference " with gladness and singleness 
of heart," bearing a good report of success under the 
divine blessing, and without a thought of possible dis- 
turbance by any other church or by presiding elder or 
bishop. Alas, for all his pleasant dreams of another 
happy and prosperous year in the old charge! An 
official of the Liberty Street Church, New Brunswick, 
introducing himself, said to me, 

" I am here with authority from our official board to 
ask the bishop to appoint you to us as our pastor." 

"O no," said I, "you are mistaken; it is my brother 
Samuel you mean." 

"No, it is you, Nicholas Vansant, whom we want," was 
his quick response. 

" But I have been at Belleville only one year," I said, 
"and I ought to stay there another, especially to take 
care of the converts which a recent revival has brought 
to us." 

" O yes," he replied, "we understand all that, but you 
are needed at our church, and we have agreed unani- 
mously to request your appointment." 

The reader may infer the outcome ; for it was a case 
of a stronger church against a weaker, and whoever 
knew the old maxim that " might makes right " to fail 
even in church administration? — a maxim musty with 
age, but not effete in vigor. The quite too rare excep- 
tions are peculiarly refreshing. 

My old charge felt bereft and the converts wept like 
children. At a meeting promptly called a committee 
was appointed to wait on Bishop Janes and secure, if 
possible, a reversal of his action. It was understood 
that he was at his country home near Bernardsville, and 
the committee set out by carriage tb find him there; but 



Chronological Glimpses. 131 

as the journey was long they must of necessity pass a 
night on the way. The next day brought with it a storm 
of unusual severity, gullying the roads, sweeping away 
bridges, and otherwise seriously obstructing travel. 
What could they do but abandon their trip and return 
home, which they did. 

A short time before my appointment to New Bruns- 
wick the Rev. John D. Blain, my predecessor, had gone 
to California as a missionary, having left behind him 
many proofs of his zeal and success, among them the new 
Pitman Church, planned and erected under his super- 
vision. The formal dedication occurred August 12, 
the sermons being preached by Rev. John Kennaday, 
the Rev. William P. Corbit, and Bishop E. S. Janes. 
Brothers Charles S B Coit and James M. Freeman were my 
colleagues, the former holding a special pastoral relation 
to the new church. Our first Sabbath in the city was 
passed together at the Liberty Street Church, each of us 
preaching a sermon, Brother Freeman being on duty at 
Milltown. After the evening service, in passing along 
the sidewalk I overheard some ladies ahead of me talk- 
ing thus : " Well, how did you like the young man this 
evening?" " First rate," was the ready answer; and 
another spoke and said, " Yes, and I liked the old man 
this morning too." At that time I was less than thirty- 
one years of age, being slightly the junior of Brother 
Coit ; but he was then unmarried. 

Thechiefworkingandcontributingforce of the churches 
and congregations in this charge may be represented by 
thispartial listof names: Edmunds — threefamilies — Stout, 
local preacher, Bishop, Speer, Miller, Cheeseman, Cornell, 
Owen, Rogers, Durant, Pette, Ashmore, Fine, Helm, Carl, 
Vankirk, local preacher, Johnson, Holland, Strong, 
Provost, Patterson, Buzzie, Conover, Jeffries, Edgerton, 
Meyer, Stewart, Grover, Buckalew, Ellis, Rusling. 



132 Sunset Memories. 

One of the happy circumstances of my pastorate here 
was the special privilege it gave me of association with 
Dr. McClintock, then Editor of our Quarterly Review, 
who for a time resided here. His social character, as 
also that of his family, was charming. He soon came 
to know of my ambition for mental improvement, and 
cordially invited me to come to his study once or twice 
a week to recite lessons in Greek, which I gladly did 
with encouraging success. This was my first opportunity 
to study under a competent teacher that beautiful lan- 
guage. Of course, the text-book used was McClintock 
& Crooks's First Lessons. My confidence in Dr. Mc- 
Clintock's friendship was so thorough that I could 
preach before him with far less intimidation than before 
some other men with only a tithe of his scholarship and 
culture. His occasional sermons in our pulpits afforded 
rare enjoyment. Among his wise suggestions to me, 
always so welcome, was this: " The opening of your ser- 
mons is too emphatic. The congregation are then 
cool, unimpassioned, and not prepared to respond to 
deep emotion or to great earnestness of voice or manner 
in the preacher. But by moderation in the beginning 
and a gradual warming into emotion and earnestness he 
can carry them up to a state of feeling corresponding 
with his own." 

An incident will illustrate his warm-heartedness and 
his tenacious remembrance of old friends, whether emi- 
nent or obscure. Memorial services in honor of Bishop 
Waugh were being held at Forsyth Street Church, New 
York, in February, 1858, at which Dr. McClintock was 
present, though, having just arrived after a long ab- 
sence in Europe, he took a seat near the door. Being 
obliged to leave before the conclusion, I was about to 
open the door and pass out when a gentle nudge ar- 
rested my attention and, looking around, I found it to 



Chronological Glimpses. 133 

be a friendly signal from Dr. McClintock's cane; then 
came the old warm grasp of the hand, and then the 
added salutation, " Glad to see you! Come and see me; 
I want to have a chat with you." Such was Dr. McClin- 
tock in the warmth and endurance of his personal 
friendships — " one of a thousand." 

While here there came to me the rare pleasure of 
hearing the great Daniel Webstei in the Day & Good- 
year rubber suit. Our residence here also gave oppor- 
tunity to become acquainted with that distinguished ci- 
vilian and educator, the Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, 
President of Rutgers College. Scarcely too much could 
be said of his great abilities and manifold excellences. 
Among the many good causes to the promotion of which 
he gave his telling energies was the great temperance 
reform. One of the grandest meetings ever held in the 
interest of this cause was the Middlesex County Con- 
vention, which met in the Liberty Street Methodist 
Episcopal Church October 20, 1852, the speakers at the 
day meeting being Messrs. McDonald, Jackson, and 
Frelinghuysen. The address of the last named was one 
never to be forgotten. He was at his best and spoke 
with surpassing power, producing an enthusiasm well- 
nigh unbounded. The evening meeting was also a nota- 
ble one, the speakers being the Rev. William McDon- 
ald, Neal Dow, and the Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler. Of 
course, Neal Dow was the hero of the hour and gave 
" a convincing argument," as I made record at the time. 
He was our guest at the parsonage, the remembrance of 
which has always been associated in our minds with a 
sense of honor in having entertained such a guest. My 
acquaintance with Brother McDonald began about this 
time, and we were honored in also having him for a 
guest. For many years his has been the noble and use- 
ful work of promoting by both voice and pen the special 



134 Sunset Memories. 

cause of Bible holiness, defending and advocating it 
from the true Wesleyan standpoint. To human seeming 
such men ought to live a thousand years! 

During our time in this charge one of the sorest vis- 
itations of Providence came to our home in the sickness 
and death of our little Fannie, four and a half years old. 
Her portrait, one of Theodore Pine's finest oil paintings, 
indicates even to the most impartial eyes her impressive 
loveliness. The artist was guided by a daguerreotype 
taken some months before her death; and to insure per- 
fect correctness we requested Mr. (afterward the Hon.) 
James Bishop, Dr. McClintock, and perhaps one or two 
other friends who knew her well, to visit Mr. Pine's 
studio and make any suggestions that might seem need- 
ful, which they kindly did. The finished picture was 
strikingly lifelike and eminently satisfactory, the one 
truly ideal picture of our home for more than forty 
years. This great bereavement is spoken of more at 
length in the writer's book, Rachel Weeping for Her 
Children, pages 90-94, which is published by the Meth- 
odist Book Concern, New York. When Bishop Janes, 
afterward visiting us, saw and read the original lines 
there given, I spoke of them as " rhymes," to w r hich he 
tersely answered, "They are more than rhymes; they 
are genuine poetry." There was one sustaining close fra- 
ternal relations toward us who could especially sympa- 
thize with us in our bereavement by reason of his own 
far heavier affliction. Between the first Mrs. Freeman, 
wife of the Rev. J. M. Freeman, and our precious one 
there was a tender attachment, and in their death they 
were divided by only two intervening days. That she 
was a truly model woman, wife, and friend will be read- 
ily conceded by all who ever knew her. 

In the "latter part of my last year arrangements were 
made, as in a late former charge, for the erection of a 



Chronological Glimpses. 135 

new parsonage, and with this in view a certain Sabbath 
was set apart for the raising of a building fund. Aided 
by the stirring sermons and appeals of the Rev. William 
M. D. Ryan, of Philadelphia, the day was crowned with 
a sfood measure of success. The house was built on 
Bayard Street, and the next year occupied by my suc- 
cessor, the Rev. Samuel Y. Monroe. 

As I review my pastorate here I can readily perceive 
that the serious impairment of my health was the result 
of plain, natural causes, but causes to which at the time 
I was largely blinded. Being ambitious to accomplish 
the best results in the pulpit and elsewhere, I worked 
excessively, especially in the matter of night study. 
The question of Gay, in his poem of 17 12, " The Shep- 
herd's Week," 

"Hath thy toil 
O'er books consumed the midnight oil ? " 

quite fails to indicate the full measure of my folly in 
nocturnal study. The habitual consuming of the "mid- 
night " oil would have been bad enough; but the addi- 
tion of one, two, sometimes even three hours in study, 
meant far more than a simple consumption of oil or its 
equivalent — it meant a slow, but sure, consuming of my 
vital energies. 

All the horrors of chronic dyspepsia intervened, 
which ceased not to cling to me in greater or less 
severity for twenty-five years, and the ghostly shadow 
of which will doubtlessly haunt me to my grave. Just 
then my situation was rendered the more trying by the 
near approach of our Annual Conference which was to 
meet in the Liberty Street Church, the chief labor of 
preparing for which fell, of course, upon the pastor. 
Among the visitors at that Conference was Dr. J. M. 
Howe, of Passaic, N. J., who temporarily became our 
guest, and by whom valuable suggestions were made 



136. Sunset Memories 

concerning my health. Besides recommending his in- 
haling tube, he instructed me in such processes of 
kneading, tapping, and pommeling the abdominal mus- 
cles, supplemented by simple calisthenics, as proved of 
unspeakable service in affording relief and leading to 
measurable recovery. Indeed, my honest conviction 
is that in the absence of the knowledge thus afforded I 
should have been dead long ago. The manipulations 
in my case were of far greater service than the tube. 

The Conference opened April 12, 1854, and was pre- 
sided over by Bishop Waugh, who found a pleasant 
home in one of our excellent families, Brother Jephtha 
Cheeseman's. The session was marked by a phenome- 
nal snowstorm, which came during Saturday night, the 
15th, and was followed by a cold wintry wind on 
Sunday. A free use of shovels was needed to clear the 
sidewalks and make passageways to the doors of the 
churches. 

Two facts of very dissimilar importance may be 
added. One relates to the adoption of the pastor's 
name for a dear boy in the family of Mr. and Mrs. 
Robert Wilson, making it pleasant to reflect after 
leaving that, in one family at least, the name would 
be held in remembrance. The other fact relates to 
a watch night service and its blessed outcome. Dr. 
Joseph Holdich preached and otherwise assisted. 
A solitary mourner bowed at the altar — an intelligent, 
comely young lady prominently connected with the 
Sunday school, of which Brother Bishop was the cul- 
tured and efficient superintendent. For long and 
weary months she had been a seeker at home and at 
the church. Though much discouraged, she now re- 
solved to seek once more. Memorable night on which 
Miss Henrietta Deeth realized the new-found joy of 
pardoned sin! Her goodly fellowship with the church 



Chronological Glimpses. 137 

incited to fresh zeal and increased usefulness. A few 
years later she became the wife of Mayor Ezekiel 
Patterson. 

Commerce Street, Bridgeton, 1854-56. 

Many were the circumstances that combined to 
render our term of service here a happy and prosperous 
one : 

1. A good parsonage, owned by the church, nearly 
new, and far better than the average in those times. 

2. A spiritual and well-organized church. Our peo- 
ple believed in class meetings and attended them, as 
well as the other means of grace. The stewards, lead- 
ers, and trustees were all godly men and men of good 
business capabilities, which they used in the affairs of 
the church. 

3. Large, attentive congregations, filling the church 
below, and frequently filling the three galleries above. 
If any were inclined to rudeness the trustees were so 
distributed in all sections of the house, under their own 
wise arrangement, as to be able promptly to detect and 
as promptly to check all signs of disorder. 

4. A large and harmonious chorus choir, under the 
able, discreet leadership of Brother A. D. Maul. 

5. A united membership, more free from jealousies 
and bickerings than most others, with a wholesome 
equality of financial condition and social position — none 
very rich, and none very poor. 

6. The good feeling and fellowship between the two 
churches of our denomination, Commerce Street and 
Trinity or Fayette Street. 

7. The respect and confidence of the other denomi- 
nations. Two circumstances helped to bring me into 
very pleasant personal relations with the Presbyterians. 
One was the fact that our Conference had met at Com- 



138 Sunset Memories. 

merce Street in 1853, and that I bad been assigned for 
entertainment to the goodly home of Mr. Henry 
Lupton, a prominent member and officer of the Presby- 
terian church, Dr. Durbin, the Rev. Robert L. Dashiel, 
then of Baltimore Conference, and my brother Samuel 
having also been assigned to the same place. This 
gave me opportunity to become acquainted with Mr. 
Lupton and his excellent sister and housekeeper a year 
in advance of my appointment to that town. The other 
circumstance referred to was that the annual meeting 
of the Cumberland County Bible Society would be held 
early in May at the Presbyterian church, and that under 
an established rule it would be the turn of the Com- 
merce Street pastor to preach the sermon. Our recent 
arrival and the unsettled condition of the parsonage 
made this embarrassing, but duty seemed to require 
submission to the venerable usage. When the day came 
I was blessed with much freedom in discoursing from 
the text, " Thy testimonies are wonderful. " This occa- 
sion afforded me opportunity to make the acquaintance 
of the Rev. Dr. Jones, the able and influential pastor of 
the church, together with that of Judge Elmer, John T. 
Nixon, Esq., afterward judge, and other prominent 
citizens. 

8. The delightful companionship of fellow Confer- 
ence associates. Two of these resided in the town, 
Brothers Alexander L. Brice, pastor of Trinity, and 
Samuel Parker, a supernumerary engaged in keeping a 
book and stationery store. We were all partial invalids 
and needed physical recruiting ; and with this in view 
we made frequent excursions to field or forest, where, 
secluded from public gaze, we could practice various 
athletics, as running, jumping, leaping, climbing, etc. 
Whether or not these exercises contributed essentially 
to our physical invigoration, they certainly did afford 



Chronological Glimpses. 139 

large measures of physical and social enjoyment. 
Brother Benjamin F. Woolston was in 1855 appointed 
pastor at Roadstown, four miles away, and him we were 
invited to visit at his b'oarding place, his host being an 
officer of the church there and the owner of a very fine 
peach orchard. It was just the right season of year for 
plucking the ripe, rich fruit, and we were given the free- 
dom of the orchard. Never did four men of the cloth 
more fully enjoy such a freedom. Remembering my 
dyspeptic troubles, I at first plucked and ate very 
charily; but after a while, so tempting was the luscious 
fruit, I began to reason thus : " Well, in any case I 
must suffer, so as well be hung for a sheep as for a 
lamb." Strolling from tree to tree, we made the com- 
pass of that delectable orchard, until every palate was 
satisfied and every capacity repleted. Of course, I ex- 
pected to pass a sleepless, suffering night; but, instead 
of this, I rested in unusual quietness and comfort, from 
which I learned that among the specially wholesome 
fruits for dyspeptics is the peach in its fullgrown, ripe, 
and fresh condition. That was a happy day for soul 
and body. Where are Brothers Brice, Parker, and 
Woolston? Gone! And Talone am left. 

9. The unusual number of families from which came 
invitations for social visits by the pastor and his family. 
Not to have accepted these would have been to deny 
ourselves the pleasure of cordial and eminently enjoy- 
able entertainment in numerous excellent homes. A long 
list of names is before me, but, as all cannot be written, 
I mention none, with a single exception, that of Brother 
Dayton B. Whitaker, with whom, in addition to general 
church and social relations, there sprang up a small 
business matter in which he showed a genuine spirit of 
unselfish kindness and accommodation. Years since 
he passed to his reward, leaving a devoted wife and 



140 Sunset Memories. 

two daughters to represent his pure character and 
life. 

10. The good revivals which crowned the united labors 
of the pastor and people. One of these occurred each 
year, giving us forty probationers the first year, and eighty- 
nine the second. We had a strong working force of loyal 
men and women, with whom it was no hardship to carry 
forward our revival campaigns. Among the names added 
to our probationers' list was that of Charles F. Sheppard. 
He was a faithful boy, graduating in due time to full 
membership, who felt called to the ministry, gave him- 
self to study, entered the Philadelphia Conference, mar- 
ried a sister of Dr. R. L. Dashiel, and for many years 
has been a busy, successful pastor in the Wilmington 
Conference. Another honored name may be fitly men- 
tioned in this connection. Before the Leaders and Stew- 
ards' Meeting there came an application in behalf of 
Benjamin O. Parvin for an exhorter's license. He was 
recommended and the license issued, which was followed 
soon after with a local preacher's license, and, in the 
spring of 1856, by his admission on trial in the New Jer- 
sey Conference. One year later his appointment fell in 
the Newark Conference, of which he has continued a 
beloved member until now. His career in the active 
pastoral work was brief by reason of insufficient health; 
but his eminent usefulness in the Second Church, now 
Trinity, of Rahway, where he resides, is proof of his 
helpful influence in counsel, holy living, and Christian 
work. Once, when his presiding elder, I saw him se- 
verely tested, but found him as inflexible for the right as 
the test was hard to bear. 

Toward the close of this pastorate a new joy came to 
our home in the birth of a precious daughter, Julia, who, 
having grown to a true womanhood, became the wife of 
Mr, Charles A, Dennis, of Newark, N. J., and the happy 



Chronological Glimpses. 141 

mother of the three winsome children, two daughters 
and a son, who now cheer their home. 

During our term here opportunity came for another 
vacation. My objective point was Rock Island, on the 
Mississippi, where lived my eldest brother. Setting out 
alone at Philadelphia, my first halting place was Cincin- 
nati, where I took occasion to cross over to Covington, 
Ky., in search of several relations whom I had never 
seen, descendants of my father's half-brother Joel. It 
was a pleasure to meet them. Then came a trip by 
steamer twenty miles down the Ohio to Lawrenceburg, 
where we transferred to a train pointing northward. I 
remembered that a former Conference associate in New 
Jersey, the Rev. Asaph C. Vandewater, was then resid- 
ing at Thorntown, Ind., right in the line of travel; him 
I must visit, if only for a few hours, which I did, a later 
train bearing me on to Indianapolis, where the night was 
passed. The next day came Michigan City and Chicago, 
when a Rock Island train was boarded for the balance 
of the journey. Having become domiciled at my broth- 
er's house in his absence, it was not wonderful that upon 
entering a short time after he should fail to recognize 
me, for about twenty years had passed since I, a boy, had 
tearfully said good-bye to him on his removal to the "far 
West." 

That visit marked one of the greenest spots of my life. 
Among those whom I had the honor of becoming ac- 
quainted with were Judge Spencer and his family. He 
had known much of pioneer life, but was now enjoying 
the quiet competency and comfort of a substantial city 
home. Here several delightful hours were passed as 
an invited guest with my brother and his genial wife. 
It was " meet and right" that one of the boys of that 
home should grow up and become an eminent minister 
among us. 
10 



142 Sunset Memories. 

The next Sunday developed the following coinci- 
dences : To the congregation at Rock Island, where I 
preached in the morning, belonged the promising youth 
who in these later years has become so widely known and 
honored as the junior secretary of our Board of Church 
Extension, Dr. W. A. Spencer; and, crossing the river in 
a rowboat at evening, I was cordially welcomed to the 
pulpit of the Davenport, la., church by its young pas- 
tor, who not many years after was called to the responsi- 
ble position of secretary of the same society, then in its 
infancy, and who ever since has been serving the 
Church in that position with distinguished ability and 
usefulness — Dr. A. J. Kynett. 

An added coincidence was this : The first secretary 
of that society was Dr. S. Y. Monroe, who immediately 
after the General Conference of 1864 was transferred 
from the New Jersey Conference and appointed pastor 
of Trinity Church, in Jersey City, Newark Conference, 
thereby supplying the vacancy occasioned by the elec- 
tion of the late pastor, Dr. (afterward Bishop) I. W. 
Wiley, to the editorial chair of the Ladies'' Repository ; 
and now a new affliction to Trinity Church came on 
apace. Hers having been the good or the ill fortune of 
being ministered to by men of superior ability, another 
pastoral bereavement became imminent. Dr. Monroe, 
with his family, was scarcely more than well settled in 
his new home when the voice of Providence quietly en- 
tered that home with the unexpected message, " This is 
not your rest." What did it mean? Simply, though 
seriously, that the bishops of the Church had fixed upon 
Dr. Monroe for secretary of the newly organized 
Board of Church Extension, a matter which very di- 
rectly and very deeply concerned me as his presiding 
elder. How to supply the vacancy thus made at Trinity 
became a perplexing problem, which, however, was soon 



Chronological Glimpses. 143 

after happily solved by the employment of Dr. Hiram 
Mattison. Alas, that there should so early come to the 
society so ably represented by Dr. Monroe the distress- 
ing calamity of his sudden, mysterious death February 
9, 1867, creating a sad, important vacancy which Dr. 
Kynett was promptly and wisely called to fill. These suc- 
cessive coincidences supplied to me those providential 
links of memory in connection with our church exten- 
sion work which can never cease to be of both pleasing 
and painful interest. 

The homeward trip from Rock Island began with a 
delightful carriage ride across the country, my nephew, 
Dr. A. Clarke Vansant, having invited me to accompany 
him in this way as far as Rockford, a distance of about 
eighty miles. The first day took us to Prophetstown ; 
the second to Dixon, where we passed the night with 
friends whom I had known in New York, Mr. and Mrs. 
Hines; on the third we approached Rockford just as 
the setting sun was casting his rays across the broad 
acres of golden wheat as it gracefully bowed before us 
and around us. A more gorgeous sunset we had not 
before witnessed. Soon came the pleasure of calls on 
two families of former esteemed parishioners in Wood- 
row charge, Brothers William Jobes and Thomas Dorset. 
Acquaintance was formed with one of the pastors, the 
Rev. James Baume, at whose invitation I occupied his 
pulpit on the Sabbath. On Monday, taking train for 
Chicago, I left behind the finest city by far in the line 
of my western journeyings. At Chicago I was cordially 
entertained in the pleasant home of the Rev. J. H. (now 
Bishop) Vincent's parents. My trip, resumed next day, 
soon ended in a safe and grateful reunion with the 
loved ones at home. 

Here came to the pastor's wife the honor of having 
her name perpetuated in one of our excellent families. 



144 Sunset Memories. 

Amelia Graham, from a lovely babe, advanced to a 'fair 
maidenhood, and thence to the joint headship of a 
happy home near Salem, N. J., where she is now re- 
siding. 

Trinity, Staten Island, N. Y., 1856-58. 

At the Conference of 1856, held in the Broad Street, 
now St. Paul's, Church, Newark, and presided over by 
Bishop Simpson, I was confronted with a serious prob- 
lem concerning my health. Feeling that my next charge 
must be a very light one, I was urged by my host, Mr. 
Abram Hedenberg, a friend as true as he was impulsive, 
to open the subject to my presiding elder, the Rev. 
Thomas Sovereign. This would be something quite 
new for one who had been accustomed to quietly re- 
ceive his appointments without asking any questions ; 
but necessity seemed now to require and justify it. On 
consulting the elder I found that my name stood for 
Broad Street, Burlington, a large and important church; 
but, while I felt complimented by this arrangement, I 
was compelled to say to him that my health was utterly 
insufficient for such a charge, and asked him to accom- 
modate me with a smaller one. He afterward reported 
to me a transfer of my name from Burlington to Eliza- 
beth, a lighter charge, indeed, but still a city church, 
and one requiring the work of a strong man. 

My perplexity led to serious thoughts of a supernu- 
merary relation, touching which I sought the advice of 
Dr. Isaac W. Wiley, then an honored member of our 
Conference. He counseled against a change of relation, 
saying that my total severance from a definite aim and 
work would be likely to hinder rather than hasten my 
recovery ; and, accepting his judgment as correct, I 
committed myself fully to the guiding hand of an all- 
wise Providence, having exercised, as it seemed to me, 



Chronological Glimpses. 145 

all proper human precautions. The outcome was just 
right ; when the appointments were read my name was 
announced for Trinity Church, Staten Island, a charge 
quite above what I had fancied would be best for me, 
but one thoroughly adapted to my actual needs. 

Here, in the winter of our second year, one of the 
most extensive revivals of my ministry occurred, result- 
ing in the professed conversion of a hundred and fifty 
souls. Some of these went to other churches, and some 
belonged to other neighborhoods ; but all, except about 
thirty, became enrolled in our list of probationers. 
During our special services of eight or ten weeks but 
two or three extra sermons were preached, the talent 
employed in assisting the pastor being the home talent 
of the church. Nobly did the leaders, stewards, trus- 
tees, and members cooperate by prayer, exhortation, and 
personal entreaty in carrying forward the blessed work. 

Many names connected with this charge, as it then 
was, rush upon my memory: W. D. Simonson, the 
brothers Snedeker, William and J. W., L. Onderdonk, 
S. K. Smack, Thompson, Shilcox, Wilde, J. Smith, R. 
P. Smyth, B. F. Roe, Parker, Jones, Kennison, Hough- 
wout, L. Edwards, Dunham, Greer, Blake, Hillyer, Price, 
Young, Bodine, Gibson, Merrill, Mitchell, Mersereau, 
Decker, Waltears, Sise, Morris, Steers, Sprague, Heal, 
Clark, Alston, Wells, Speer, Seawood, Burbank, Stillwell, 
Houseman, Cadmus, Pratt, J. Q. Simonson, Searles, 
Boice, Degroot. 

In the congregation there statedly sat at my right two 
hearers of special literary note, Messrs. Gabriel P. Dis- 
osway and Robert A. West. The former was a fre- 
quent contributor to various papers and magazines and 
the author or compiler of some excellent books, among 
them that superb volume, called Our Excellent Women, 
which I prize as a true ornament to my library in 



146 , Sunset Memories. 

keeping with its name. He, with most of his family, 
is gone; but it was refreshing to the writer on July 4, 
1895, to meet his son Wilbur and with him talk over 
the past. For several years Mr. West was Editor of the 
New York Commercial Advertiser and held that position 
at the time of my first acquaintance with him, his fam- 
ily residence being not far from Mr. Disosway's. That 
they were intelligent hearers goes without saying; but 
with all their knowledge and culture they were far from 
being captious or hypercritical. To preach before such 
men was a matter of pleasure, rather than of dread. 

Once, when I had preached from the text, " Now are 
we the sons of God," etc., and had spoken of spiritual 
sonship as "the relation acquired," Mr. West very mod- 
estly asked me, when alone, w r hether the word " con- 
ferred " or *' 4 bestowed " would not be better than "ac- 
quired?" I caught the idea at once and said, "O yes, 
sonship in God's spiritual family is a state or relation 
conferred by him, and not acquired by us." Thanking 
him cordially for his wise suggestion, I never thereafter 
failed to profit thereby. In 1851 a volume of four hun- 
dred and twenty pages from his ready pen was issued 
by our Book Concern with the modest title, Sketches of 
Wesleyan Preachers, which had a rapid and extensive 
sale, as it fully deserved. A copy of this very interest- 
ing work came to me in 1857, the fly leaf bearing my 
name, "with kind regards of the author," written in his 
neat and easy hand. That Dr. Wardle, of the New 
York Conference, should have come to Mr. West's home 
to find a wife among his three or four comely daughters 
was not at all surprising; others of his profession might 
safely have done the same. 

During our second year at Trinity a sore affliction 
came to one of our chief families, that of Brother 
William Snedeker, in the death of his son Charles N. 



Chronological Glimpses. 147 

One of the promising young men of the church, he was 
fast developing into an active, efficient worker; but 
after an unexpected illness God took him from loving 
parents, an only brother, and a devoted wife of rare 
beauty, intelligence, and talent — the young mother of a 
lovely boy baby. At the funeral a somewhat extended 
sketch of the deceased by the pastor was read, and after- 
ward published in small pamphlet form. In sadness we 
bore his body to Hempstead, L. I., and tenderly laid it 
away to await a glorious resurrection. The precious 
boy became a special tie of endearment to the grand- 
parents and a special object of their care, training, and 
education. He has grown to a noble, cultured manhood, 
and now, without either parent and without grand- 
parents, he lives to honor the cherished name of each 
and to bless the Church, in the manly person and use- 
ful ministry of the Rev. Charles H. Snedeker of the 
New York Conference. 

Here also came to our home a welcome boy, Wilbur 
Craig, whose early promise of continued life and health 
was very assuring; but sickness stole on apace and main- 
tained its hold till a fatal result seemed inevitable. 
The hope of his recovery was abandoned by all save 
one, who clung to her almost skeleton babe with the 
unconquerable tenacity of a mother's love and hope. 
Much prayer went up to heaven, and the all-loving 
Father answered; suddenly came signs of a favorable 
change, surprising physicians and friends alike. That 
almost dying babe is at this writing the honored Sunday 
school superintendent of First Church, Baltimore, Md., 
and active in various other lines of church work. Hav- 
ing gone to that city for business purposes, he found a 
young lady, Miss Carrie S. Nelson, who met his ideal 
of maidenly excellence, resulting in their nuptials Oc- 
tober 13, 1886. Their inviting home at Roland Park is 



148 Sunset Memories. 

now brightened by three comely children, a son and two 
daughters. 

My successor was a Conference classmate, the genial, 
whole souled Rev. Michael E. Ellison. 

Haverstraw, N. Y., 1858-60. 

This was my second appointment as a member of the 
Newark Conference, the first separate session of which 
was held at Morristown, N. J., March 31, 1858. At the 
session of the New Jersey Conference held in Newark 
two years before, action had been taken requesting the 
General Conference to authorize a division of that Con- 
ference into two distinct bodies, the one to retain the 
old name, and the other to take the name of Newark. 
This authorization was given by the General Conference 
at its quadrennial session in May, 1856, the same to take 
effect at the next session of the New Jersey Conference, 
which, as the Minutes show, was held in Trenton April 
8, 1857, and presided over by Bishop Scott. The ses- 
sion closed with the reading of two sets of appoint- 
ments, under the two heads of " Newark Conference " 
and "New Jersey Conference. " 

During the session at Morristown my presiding elder, 
Dr. John S. Porter, asked me which I would prefer for 
my next appointment, Orange or Haverstraw. " O," I 
slid, " it is not for me to choose ; that belongs to others. 
But," I added, " if I should express a preference it 
would be in favor of Haverstraw." He approved my 
answer, which, however, was not based on any definite 
knowledge of the two places, but only on a general im- 
pression. Our home at Haverstraw was delightful, and 
our term of service not without good fruit. 

As the close of the first year approached we were all 
looking forward with intense interest to the coming ses- 
sion of Newark Conference, which had selected Hav- 



Chronological Glimpses. 149 

erstraw as its next place of meeting. Could so large a 
body be accommodated in so small a place ? A thor- 
ough canvass was made, which happily resulted in a 
favorable answer; but, of course, we were obliged to do 
what was also our great pleasure, that is, accept the 
proffered hospitality of other churches. The truly fra- 
ternal spirit manifested by the two Presbyterian congre- 
gations, with their pastors, the Rev. Messrs. Freeman 
and Myers, was as warmly appreciated as it was oppor- 
tune. 

For the first time after his long and dangerous sick- 
ness, contracted in the East, Bishop Simpson was to 
preside, with his home at the parsonage, next door to 
the church. When the time came he was accompanied 
by Mrs. Simpson and little Charlie. Our entertainment 
of the bishop, with his dear wife and boy, marked a 
green spot in our home life which ever since has con- 
tinued fresh and inspiring. Other dear friends were with 
us during that week, adding to the pleasures of the oc- 
casion — Mrs. C. Holsman, Mrs. N. Sipp, and Miss Mar- 
tha Jones. A week more full of true enjoyment cannot 
well be imagined. We afterward learned to our real 
comfort that Bishop Simpson's memory was too tena- 
cious and his heart too warm ever to forget or to neg- 
lect old friends. My own frequent, and my wife's occa- 
sional, meetings with him always brought an instant 
recognition and a warm greeting. 

The Conference sermons and addresses were preemi- 
nently enjoyable. A program had been prepared call- 
ing for a sermon each evening, followed by an exhorta- 
tion after the old-time Methodist order, and it worked 
happily. Among those who preached or exhorted were 
the Revs. George Winsor, James O. Rogers, Alexander 
H. Mead, Bartholomew Weed, etc. The anniversaries 
were fewer then than now, and were held in the after- 



ISO Sunset Memories. 

noons. Following a grand missionary speech from the 
Rev. William Tunison was a thrilling address by Dr. 
McClintock, who outdid even himself. He was in his 
happiest mood, and carried the audience whither he 
would. One of the speakers at the Sunday school an- 
niversary was the Rev. Richard B. Lockwood, whose 
sparkling address delighted both preachers and people. 
The cause of education was represented by Dr. James 
Strong with even more than his usual sprightliness and 
ability. 

The Sabbath services were full of interest and unc- 
tion. Bishop Simpson not being able to preach in the 
morning, Bishop Janes took his place and nobly filled 
it. His text was Phil, iv, 7, which he elaborated with 
telling impressiveness and power. The sermon of the 
afternoon wa3 by Dr. Holdich, who preached well and 
usefully, but without reaching his usual elevated stand- 
ard. Years afterward he told me the cause of his fail- 
ure, as he considered it. He had been invited to dine 
with the bishops at the delightful home of Brother Si- 
las D. Gardner, about one mile and a half north of the 
village, where a luxurious dinner awaited them, which 
was disposed of only in time for a hasty return to the 
church. Without opportunity for rest or meditation or 
prayer, Dr. Holdich was obliged to enter the pulpit and 
preach under an embarrassment far greater, doubtless, 
to his own consciousness than apparent to the congre- 
gation. Dr. James B. Faulks, in his charming Glimpses 
of Methodism in Haverstraw, speaks most truly of the 
Conference thus : " The occasion was one of lively in- 
terest to the people hereabouts. " 

In the autumn of our second year one of those domes- 
tic events occurred at the parsonage which are wont to 
bring with them new joys and fresh responsibilities — the 
birth of another son, w T ho took the name of his maternal 



Chronological Glimpses. 151 

grandfather, Horatio Moses. At suitable age he entered 
the New York University, and, successfully pursuing the 
studies of the regular course, was graduated in the sum- 
mer of 1881. He early became converted, and is now a 
member and officer of the Roseville Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, Newark, N. J. Not feeling called of the 
Holy Spirit to the work of the ministry, he engaged in 
business, saying to Dr. Buttz, who invited him to enter 
Drew Seminary, and to other friends, that he believed 
the Church had as much need of good, Christian busi- 
ness men as of good, faithful ministers. His happy 
marriage to Miss Essy A., daughter of Mr. Joseph S. 
Morriss, occurred April 24, 1884. Two sprightly chil- 
dren, a son and a daughter, enliven their cheerful home. 
It would be gratifying to mention here some names 
of the many excellent families embraced in this charge, 
as I found and left it, but this has been rendered quite 
needless by the befitting record made of them in the 
Glimpses of Dr. Faulks, which can never cease to be of 
great historical value to all whose lot has been or may 
yet be cast in that locality. Though more than a gen- 
eration has passed since our leave-taking, memory still 
lingers about its loved associations and finds refreshment 
in their sweet, delightsome odors. I left sixty-five pro- 
bationers, and during the last year had baptized forty- 
three adults and fifteen children. 

Clinton Street, Newark, N. J., i860, 1861. 

My appointment to this church, unlike almost every 
other one in my long ministry, was prearranged by a 
written call of the official board and my own written 
consent, subject, of course, to the action of the bishop. 
Its membership of four hundred, with fifty-eight proba- 
tioners, widely scattered in one hundred different 
streets of the city, meant plenty of work for the head 



152 Sunset Memories. 

and heart, the voice and hands and feet of the pastor. 
Some untoward surroundings and a serious difficulty 
within conspired to rob the year of its highest measure 
of hoped-for success. " For a great door and effectual 
is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries." 
Paul could brave " many," but one was an overmatch 
for me, as he had been five years before for an honored 
predecessor, the Rev. Alexander L. Brice, one of the 
purest and best of men. 

Early in my second year I felt constrained to notify 
the official board of the church of my purpose to resign 
as its pastor — a purpose deliberately formed, but without 
any plans whatever having been made in reference to 
the future. " By faith Abraham, when he was called, 
. . . went out, not knowing whither he went." In this 
spirit I had determined to " go out," trusting in Abra- 
ham's God for direction and protection. Soon after I 
received the following letter embodying the action of 
the church through its official representatives, the letter 
being signed by James C. Ludlow, a prominent and ex- 
cellent officer, who a few years later was called to serve 
the city as its honored mayor: 

"Newark, June 18, 1861. 

"Rev. N. Vansant — Dear Brother: At a joint meet- 
ing of the official boards of the Clinton Street Methodist 
Episcopal Church, held in the lecture room on the even- 
ing of the seventeenth instant, the following preamble 
and resolutions were adopted : 

" ' Whereas, Rev. N. Vansant, pastor in charge of the 
Clinton Street Methodist Episcopal Church, for certain 
reasons has in contemplation the resigning of the pastor- 
ate of said church, 

Ui Resolved, That Brother Vansant has our heartfelt 
sympathies, and we regret that any causes should have 



Chronological Glimpses. 153 

occurred to produce such action ; and we hereby, see- 
ing the interests of our church will very much suffer by 
such resignation, most earnestly request him to recon- 
sider the matter and consent to remain with us as pastor, 
and we do pledge him our hearty cooperation. 

1 ' 'Resolved, That the secretary be instructed to send a 
copy of these resolutions to the pastor, and also a copy 
to the presiding elder of this district.' 

"James C. Ludlow, Secretary." 

Such a paper, conveying such expressions of sympa- 
thy and confidence, could not fail to prove very grate- 
ful to my feelings ; but the purpose to dissolve my 
pastoral connection with that church had become so 
fixed that I could not honorably or conscientiously ac- 
cede to the request of its united office-bearers, much as 
I respected and loved them. Of course, I would con- 
sult my presiding elder, the Rev. James M. Tuttle, 
which I did, conferring also with my former presiding 
elder, Dr. John S. Porter, of the adjoining Railway 
District. 

Following my purpose to resign, an unexpected 
vacancy occurred at the First Church, Rahway, by the 
appointment of its pastor, the Rev. Robert B. Yard, as a 
chaplain in the army. Was this a providential opening 
to me ? So it seemed. Dr. Porter, who, of course, was 
glad to have a supply for this vacancy, corresponded 
with Bishop Ames, Elder Tuttle concurring, the result 
being the following letter from the bishop : 

li Indianapolis, Ind., June 20, 1861. 

" Rev. N. Vansant — Dear Brother : Having been in- 
formed by letter from Dr. J. S. Porter that, in the judg- 
ment of himself and Brother J. M. Tuttle, the interests 
of the Church will be promoted by a change of your 



154 -Sunset Memories. 

appointment from Clinton Street, Newark, to the First 
Church, Rahway, and that the change will also be 
agreeable to yourself, the change is therefore hereby 
made, and you will immediately on receipt of this take 
the pastoral charge of the First Church in Rahway. 
May the Lord be with you and bless you and make you 
a blessing in your new field of labor ! 

" Yours truly, 

"E. R. Ames:" 

An interesting fact in the history of Clinton Street 
Church is the ministry of the Rev. Dr., afterward 
Bishop, Gilbert Haven as my immediate successor, 
having been employed temporarily to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by our removal. At the next Conference 
the redoubtable and eloquent Rev. William P. Corbit 
became its pastor and served it faithfully for two years ; 
but the zenith of its healthful prosperity seems to have 
been reached under the pastorate of my immediate 
predecessor, the Rev. Dr. Jonathan K. Burr. From 
that time forward it passed through varying fortunes 
until the spring of 1881, when its name appeared for the 
last time in the Conference Minutes. Its commodious 
church edifice, handsomely fitted up at large expense, 
was sold to the Young Men's Christian Association, by 
which it has since been occupied in carrying on its use- 
ful work. For several years uncontrollable circum- 
stances had been foreshadowing its dissolution or its 
removal, chief among these circumstances being its 
location in the business center of the city and its close 
proximity to Central Church, with its greater wealth and 
stronger organization. 

One of the most noteworthy institutions of Clinton 
Street Church was its large and flourishing Sunday school, 
under the efficient superintendence of Brother W. D. 



Chronological Glimpses* 155 

Cowan, who yet lives to recall with grateful joy the fruit 
of his industrious toil. The following clause in a re- 
port concerning this church, adopted by the Newark 
Conference in 1881, applies particularly to its Sunday 
school : " It has given to the Church nine ministers of 
the Gospel, namely, G. H. Winans, S. L. Baldwin, J. B. 
Faulks, D. R. Lowrie, H. M. Simpson, T, H. Jacobus, 
W. S. Gallaway, of this Conference ; Milton Relyea, of 
the New Jersey Conference ; and Henry Still, of the New 
York East Conference." 

In closing this sketch I am doubly glad to put on rec- 
ord an important interview between my unnamed " ad- 
versary " and myself — doubly glad because of the honor 
which it reflected on him and the comfort which it 
yielded me. It occurred during the annual session of 
our Conference at Elizabeth in 1865. Calling me aside, 
he referred to the difficulty at Clinton Street, and then 
said, " The fault in that matter was mine, not yours." I 
answered, " Yes; but you have noticed during the years 
that have since passed that I have manifested no spirit 
of revenge, but have treated you with uniform kindness." 
" Ah," he replied, " that has been my greatest trouble. 
Had you shown a disposition to fight I could have borne 
it; but your kindness has been a continual reproach and 
sting. Let the hatchet be buried." That seemed like a 
dying confession, giving to me a welcome relief, and a 
far greater to himself. We shook hands and parted in 
peace, never to meet again in this world, his death fol- 
lowing not long afterward. During the same Conference 
he sought a similar interview with Brother Brice, to 
whom he made similar admissions, with a like happy 
result. 

These instances were but added verifications of Isa. 
xlix, 23. Says Dr. Kitto : "Thirty years ago ... I put 
my mark upon this passage in Isaiah, ' I am the Lord: 



156 Sunset Memories. 

for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.' Of the 
many books I now possess, the Bible that bears that 
mark is the only one of them all that belonged to me at 
that time. It now lies before me. ... I believed it 
then; but I know it now ; and I can write probation est, 
with my whole heart, over against the symbol which that 
mark is to me, of my ancient faith. ' They shall not be 
ashamed that wait for me/ ... It [the word ' wait '] is 
but a monosyllable ; but it is fuller of meaning than any 
other word in the language, and it is applicable to all 
ages and to all circumstances. " 

First Church, Rahway, N. J., 1861, 1862. 

Few, if any, of the Northern cities were more seriously 
affected in business by the war than Rahway, N. J. Its 
chief and almost sole industry was the manufacture of 
carriages for the Southern markets, which was prostrated 
beyond recovery by the breaking out of the war. Of 
necessity, therefore, the salary in my new charge would 
be small ; but after all the matter of salary is far from 
being the summum bonum or chief good in the life of a 
Christian pastor, though the tendency of the times is to 
exalt it to this unmerited position. 

Never, perhaps, was a church in sudden, embarrassing 
poverty more appreciative, hopeful, and generous than 
the one which I was now so strangely called to serve. A 
choice list of names, representing families or individuals, 
I find indelibly written on memory's expanded tablet, 
among them the following: Osborn, Terrill, Price, 
Simpson, Gibby, Pease, Swaim, Putnam, Stone, Havi- 
land, Ryno, Flatt, Clark, Marsh, Dubois. 

While here, an unusual visitation of Providence came 
to the parsonage in the birth of twin daughters, who took 
the twin names of Hattie and Hetty, after two dear 
friends at Elizabeth, Mrs. Harriet Cleveland and Mrs. 



Chronological Glimpses. 157 

Hetty Faulks. They were so much alike in size, com- 
plexion, and features that we were often puzzLed to call 
either by the right name in the absence of the other, 
though when together there could be seen on close in- 
spection a shade of difference. Did we idolize them ? 
Perhaps; but, whether such was the case or not, after 
three beautiful summers of life the one was taken and 
the other left. Hetty sleeps with her mother in lovely 
" Cedar Lawn," but a short remove from the low-mur- 
muring Passaic on the outskirts of the mother's native 
Paterson. Hattie survives, the devoted wife of Mr. H. M. 
Wagner and mother of three affectionate children, two 
daughters and a son, by whom their goodly home at 1809 
Bolton Street, Baltimore, Md., is cheered and gladdened.' 

The closing months of this pastorate were devoted to 
special revival services, which resulted in several wel- 
come accessions to the church; but the strain of inces- 
sant labor in speaking and singing in a damp basement 
brought upon the pastor, unconsciously to himself, a 
state of chronic hoarseness, which threatened serious 
results, and which, in fact, during most of the next two 
years greatly crippled him in his work. 

As the time of Conference approached a "call" from 
Bethel Church, Staten Island, was received and favor- 
ably responded to on the usual condition of episcopal 
consent. The appointment was made, and I entered 
hopefully upon my new charge. 

Bethel, Staten Island, N. Y., 1862-64. 

Here my predecessor was the Rev. Benjamin Kelley, 
who u in labors more abundant" and corresponding 
fruitage was a worthy successor of Paul. He was the 
father of Dr t W. V. Kelley, the scholarly Editor of the 
Methodist Review, and was a man of whom any son 
might justly feel proud. 
11 



158 Sunset Memories. 

The war fever ran high, making it needful for me in 
that eminently conservative locality to stand up in pri- 
vate and in public for the government, which, of course, 
evoked some criticism and opposition, not to say threats 
of violence. The nearest approach to this, last w r as the 
wish of one of our neighbors, vigorously expressed, 
that he might see me " strung up on a sour apple tree." 
The unpoetic wish was never gratified, and I have 
long since forgiven the ill-wisher. While many were in 
secret or open sympathy with the Rebellion, the home 
government was not without its heroic, outspoken sup- 
porters, prominent among whom were Messrs. John S. 
Sleight, Elias P. Manee, Alfred H. Taylor, S. W. Cronk, 
W. A. Brown, S. L. Hopping, and others. Indeed, to 
the praise of Bethel Church and congregation be it said 
that, although a large majority of them belonged to the 
party not in power, they all, with rare exceptions, re- 
frained from active opposition to the Union cause or to 
the pastor in his earnest defense of it. As loyal to both 
I mention Messrs. Ephraim J. Totten and others of the 
same family name, M. S. Taylor, the Spragues, Manees, 
Ryders, Jolines, Weir, Moore, Cole, Graham, and 
Turner. 

During the reign of the bloody draft riot in New 
York in July, 1863, a sensation amounting to a veritable 
scare was produced by a rumor that the rioters were 
on their way to Tottenville. The appalling message, 
"The rioters are coming! the rioters are coming!" 
passed rapidly from mouth to mouth, till the whole neigh- 
borhood was wrought up to a ferment of tremendous ex- 
citement. Our good neighbor, Mr. Taylor, living nearly 
opposite, rushed over to the parsonage and, repeating the 
rumor, advised us to come at once to his house, saying 
that the rioters would be sure to raid the parsonage first. 
So, taking his advice, we vacated our own home and 



Chronological Glimpses. 159 

took shelter in his. But the rumor, though not an in- 
tended hoax, was a totally false alarm, without the least 
foundation except in the heated imagination of its orig- 
inators. 

The troublesome hoarseness of which I have spoken 
continued without abatement during my first year at 
Bethel, making necessary the help of an assistant during 
the second year. Happily, that assistant was found in 
Brother John Coyle, a young local preacher and school- 
teacher, who was awaiting a providential opening to the 
itinerant work. That opening had now come, and he 
entered it in goQd heart and hope. Our plan for preach- 
ing was a sermon by each of us on the Sabbath, under 
which Brother Coyle, by his exemplary piety, social 
spirit, and excellent preaching, rendered himself both 
popular and useful. Afterward, while stationed at St. 
Luke's, Newark, he was transferred to the California 
Conference, where his successful ministry has proved a 
happy fulfillment of its early promise. He was a del- 
egate to the General Conference of 1896. Under the 
skillful treatment of Dr. R. Hunter, of New York, my 
stubborn hoarseness passed away, and the vocal organs 
became quite restored to their normal condition. 

A twofold improvement was put upon the parsonage 
property — the addition of a small extension at the rear 
of the dwelling, and the stocking of the large garden 
with blackberry plants, vines, and fruit trees by means 
of a "bee." Not far from this property stood the beau- 
tiful home of Chaplain John L. Lenhart, whose sudden 
death on the Cumberland in Hampton Roads is well and 
sadly remembered, and whose monument in Bethel 
Cemetery fitly perpetuates the story of his noble life and 
heroic death. The parsonage here became the birth- 
place of our youngest child, a precious daughter who 
took the name of Amelia Foster, after the estimable lady 



160 Sunset Memories. 

whom Chaplain Lenhart had left as his affianced bride, 
but whom he never returned to take to be his wedded 
wife, Our " Mellie " is now Mrs. P. T. Wood, of Rose- 
ville, Newark, and the happy mother of a bright, promis- 
ing boy, two others having recently passed away. 

My successor was the Rev. Edward W. Adams, who, 
in 1867, was transferred to the Rock River Conference 
after an honorable record among us. 

Jersey City (Paterson) District, 1864-68. 

Among the events of the Conference session held in 
Market Street Church, Paterson, March 16, 1864, and 
presided over by Bishop Simpson, were my election as 
delegate to the General Conference and my appoint- 
ment to the presiding eldership of Jersey City (then 
called Paterson) District. The former was purely spon- 
taneous, no one to my knowledge having been solicited 
directly or indirectly to cast his ballot for me. Indeed, 
" from youth to hoary age " I have been kept in blissful 
ignorance of the politician's art in both Church and 
State, though the cost of such ignorance has doubtless 
sometimes been, in my case as in others, a loss of prefer- 
ment. 

Our residence for the first half of the year was fixed 
at Paterson ; but in the autumn it was changed to 
Nyack-on-the-Hudson, where not long after a deep sor- 
row came to us in the sickness by scarlet fever of our 
whole family of seven children, one of whom, our little 
Hetty, of three years and two months, was taken from 
us. It was no comfort when, on his first visit, the family 
physician, Dr. Hasbrouck, more noted for his skill than 
for his gentleness, said to the anxious mother, "Madam., 
it is scarlet fever, and no telling where it will end ; bet- 
ter have had smallpox break out in your family." 

To bury our dead a trip of twenty-four miles across 



Chronological Glimpses. 161 

the country to Paterson was made on runners, the con- 
veyance having been furnished through the kindness of 
our sympathizing neighbor, Brother J. W. Towt, the 
pastor at Nyack, the Rev. Richard B. Lockwood, taking 
skillful management of the team. Appropriate services 
were held at Market Street Church, under direction of 
the pastor, the Rev. James M. Freeman, special and 
fervent prayers being offered for the recovery of the 
sick ones at home. Was it a mere coincidence that on 
returning home we found them all improving, and, espe- 
cially, those in greatest apparent danger when we left, 
decidedly better? Or was it an instance of divinely 
answered prayer according to the teaching of James v, 
16-18? We prefer to believe the latter. 

The General Conference held in Philadelphia during 
the month of May, 1864, was a very exciting one, the 
nation being still in the throes of the gigantic civil war. 
The Newark Conference delegation consisted of Isaac 
W. Wiley, Nicholas Vansant, Alexander L. Brice, Jona- 
than T. Crane, and Stacy W. Hilliard, all of whom, ex- 
cept the last, were elected on the first ballot in the 
order named. 

Of choice, the writer was assigned to the Committee 
on Slavery, where, by invitation of Dr. Daniel Wise, its 
secretary, he acted part of the time as his assistant. 
An elaborate report of this committee closed with a 
recommendation that the General Rule on slavery be so 
■ changed as to read: " Slaveholding; buying or selling 
slaves; " and the report was adopted by an overwhelm- 
ing majority — 207 to 9 — a consummation devoutly 
wished, and which had been labored and prayed for by 
hundreds of great and good men who had died without 
the sight. That was more than a proud day — it was a 
sublime epoch in the progress of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church! 



162 Sunset Memories. 

Two days after this action came the public reading 
of that wonderful autograph letter from President Lin- 
coln in which he paid so emphatic a compliment to the 
Methodist Church — a letter which must go down to 
posterity as an official tribute unsurpassed in its wise 
discriminations and its honest emphatic acknowledg- 
ments, as also in its terse and graceful composition. 
Happily, that autograph letter is in possession of Wil- 
liam H. Harris, of New York, a son of Bishop Harris, 
who at that time was secretary of the General Confer- 
ence. 

A pleasant episode early in the session was the ap- 
pointment of a deputation to the General Conference of 
the African Methodist, Episcopal Church and its cordial 
reciprocation. The deputation, as published in the 
Journal, consisted of James Hill, Nicholas Vansant, John 
W. Armstrong, Daniel Wise, and James Cunningham. 
Our visit to that Conference was heartily welcomed and 
mutually enjoyed, resulting in the appointment by it 
of a similar deputation to our body and its cordial 
reception a few days later. Two of that deputation, 
the Revs. J. P. Campbell and A. W. Wayman, were at 
the same session of their General Conference elected 
bishops; and Bishop Wayman, in our occasional meet- 
ings afterward, was wont to make pleasant reference to 
our first acquaintance at that time. 

It was At this General Conference that the term of 
pastoral service was extended from two years to three; 
that advanced action was taken on the subject of lay 
delegation; that the Church Extension Society was 
organized by the adoption of a carefully prepared con- 
stitution; and that various other important changes 
were made in the Discipline, most of them recom- 
mended by the Committee on Revisals, of which the 
writer had the pleasure of being a member. Three new 



Chronological Glimpses. 163 

bishops were elected, Clark, Thomson, and Kingsley, the 
leader of our delegation, Dr. Wiley, and the Rev. D. D. 
Lore, late a member of Newark Conference, being 
elected to the editorial chairs, respectively, of the Ladies' 
Repository and the Northern Christian Advocate. 

The home of my brother Samuel, then pastor of 
Third Street Church, Camden, furnished delightful en- 
tertainment to Dr. Jonathan T. Crane and myself dur- 
ing the session. On one Sabbath morning his pulpit 
was filled by Dr. Thomas M. Eddy, whose sermon, 
founded on Gal. i, n, 12, was a masterpiece of sur- 
passing logic and eloquence, unction, and power, lifting 
the congregation to the highest pitch of religious en- 
thusiasm, and more deeply affecting the writer than any 
other sermon before or since, rendering him utterly 
powerless to close the service as had been arranged by 
the pastor. 

But a few weeks after entering upon the district work 
in March a sad bereavement came to one of our 
charges, New Prospect, now Waldwick, in the death of 
its beloved pastor, the Rev. William M. Burroughs, 
April 17, 1864. The funeral discourse was preached 
by the writer from Phil, i, 20 : " Christ shall be magni- 
fied in my body, whether it be by life or by death." 

During my term of four years on this district five 
different preachers were "employed by the elder" who 
afterward became useful members of the Conference, 
namely, Merritt C. Reed, Albert Van Deusen, Hiram 
Mattison, Enoch V. King, and Thomas H. Jacobus. 
The first, second, and last were employed as local 
preachers to supply vacancies in the regular way; the 
other two were received from other denominations, each 
through a Quarterly Conference, and then employed to 
fill vacancies. Brother King having been received from 
the Baptist Church, through the Nyack Quarterly Con- 



164 Sunset Memories. 

ference, was appointed to Piermont as a supply, where 
an extensive revival attended his labors. At the en- 
suing Annual Conference, his ordination having been 
recognized, he was admitted on trial, and two years 
later received into full connection. While at Piermont 
a sore affliction came to his home in the death of a pre- 
cious child. 

Dr. Mattison's return to his old Church home from 
the Independent Methodist Church is fully related in 
his Life and Character ', by the writer, and need not here 
be repeated. He was admitted and recognized as a local 
preacher by the Palisades Quarterly Conference in 
August, 1865, and by unanimous wish of Trinity Church, 
Jersey City, was at once appointed to supply the va- 
cancy occasioned by the election of Dr. Monroe as sec- 
retary of the new Church Extension Society. At the 
next session of Newark Conference he was received on 
trial, and a year later, under a new rule of the Disci- 
pline, admitted to full membership. 

The Conference of 1864 having witnessed the strange 
fact of no admissions on trial for lack of room, there 
followed, two years later, the correspondingly strange 
fact of no candidates for full connection. Yet during 
the latter session, held at Washington, N. J., there stood 
before the altar of the church two notable men, to re- 
ceive the suffrages of the body; the one for a recogni- 
tion of orders after examination, without a reimposition 
of hands, the other for election and ordination as a 
deacon after examination, with the laying on of hands. 
Both were tall, slender, erect ; the one dark of complex- 
ion, the other light; the one past middle life, the other 
young; the one well-cultured without the culture of the 
schools, the other educated through the liberal culture 
of school and college curriculum; the one already dis- 
tinguished as a prolific writer, an able debater, and an 



Chronological Glimpses. 165 

eloquent preacher, the other yet to reap distinguished 
honors by his convincing, winning graces of pen and 
voice in the sanctum and the pulpit; the one widely 
known by his familiar signature, H. Mattison, the other 
to become more widely known by the name of William 
V. Kelley. To Bishop Baker fell the honor of conduct- 
ing the service of that interesting occasion. 

Besides the parsonages already spoken of as invaded 
by death, another calls for tender and appreciative men- 
tion. The clear, gentle, steady light which illumined 
the parsonage at Rockland Lake was quenched in sud- 
den darkness, leaving the heart and home of the hus 7 
band, the Rev. Alexander Craig, in deepest sorrow. A 
daughter of the saintly Amos Hoagland and wife, and 
a sister of Mrs. Henry A. Buttz and the Rev. Warren 
L. Hoagland, her parentage and family relationships 
served as a true index to her excellent personal char- 
acter. Her death was the beautiful setting of a bright 
jewel in the Saviour's crown. 

How full of contrasts is the present ever-changing 
life ! Not far distant in time or space came nuptial fes- 
tivities and joy at the sightly, capacious home of John 
W. Towt, Esq., Nyack. The bride was a stately, cul- 
tured daughter, the bridegroom her scholarly and tal- 
ented pastor, the Rev. Solomon Parsons, whose useful 
career in the pulpit, on the platform, and in the arena 
of debate has become extensively known. True to the 
usual custom in all such cases, no marriage fee was ac- 
cepted; but after the lapse of two and a half decades, 
in which sons and daughters had been born and several 
of them had grown to a noble manhood and woman- 
hood, a generous fee enriched the purse of the writer's 
"better half." Ours was also the pleasure of officiating 
at the happy marriage of the Rev. Richard Johns and Miss 
Emma Cadmus, of Paterson, N. J., February. 23, 1865. 



166 Sunset Memories. 

Washington, N. J., 1868, 1869. 

At the Conference held in March of 1868 at Plain- 
field, and presided over by Bishop Clark, I made 
public request not to. be continued in the presiding 
eldership, a request which, as I now review it, was far 
more unwise than wise, embarrassing the bishop in his 
cabinet work and forestalling my appointment to New- 
ark District. The outcome took us to Washington, 
Warren County, which had risen to the status of one 
of our prominent charges outside of the chief cities, 
but where my strong antislavery record, as I afterward 
found, had preceded me, to my hindrance in successful 
work. Not that open antagonism by the dominating 
Democratic influence in the church at any time with- 
stood or confronted me, but secret currents of that in- 
fluence operated to retard the wheels of progress, and, 
at last, to " beseech, " not me, but the appointing author- 
ities, that I " would depart out of their coasts. ,, 

Had I preached politics in the pulpit or been dispu- 
tatious out of it ? Neither; nor can I recall any in- 
stance of indiscretion, unless the following might be so 
construed, namely, illuminating the parsonage, as a good 
citizen, on occasion of a great Republican parade in the 
town, using for candlesticks some flat turnips that had 
grown in a patch owned by the wealthiest man in the 
church, who belonged to the opposite party. Should 
that have been considered a mortal offense in " the land 
of the free and the home of the brave ? " After I had 
ceased to be his pastor and he was dying of cancer, I 
visited him at his home and found him cordial, trustful, 
devout, awaiting in calmness his coming change. The 
interview closed with a prayer as sincerely appreciated, 
I believe, as it was sincerely offered. " His loving- 
kindness, O how great!" overlooking human foibles, for- 



Chronological Glimpses. 167 

giving human sins, whether of ignorance or intent, 
sanctifying human suffering to the chastening of mind 
and heart, purifying and fitting human souls for God's 
own sinless heaven. 

Since my pastorate at Washington many others have 
passed away, while many more remain whose names are 
in the book of life but cannot be written here. Gradu- 
ally this church has grown in numbers and strength to 
such proportions as to require and justify the enterprise 
of a new church edifice, which at this writing (in 1896) 
is in course of erection under supervision of the heroic 
pastor, Rev. John R. Wright, and which gives equal 
promise of great beauty and superior commodiousness. 

Newton District, 1869-73. 

My request of one year before was quite set aside by 
Bishop Scott at the Conference session of 1869, held in 
Central Church, Newark. The outcome was a great 
surprise to me, no hint of it in advance having been re- 
ceived from either bishop or presiding elder; and, while 
it gave proof of continued official confidence, it sadly 
disturbed our comfort and interfered with our conveni- 
ence. Though perhaps intended as a compliment and 
not in any wise a penalty, I could easily foresee that my 
appointment to Newton District meant an abundance of 
hard work and some painful sacrifices to which neither 
health nor purse seemed at all equal. But if " all's well 
that ends well," then may we look back with gratitude 
and pleasure upon our four years of service there. 
Most of our quarterly meetings meant much as to both 
attendance and interest, revivals were numerous, and 
substantial progress, financial and spiritual, crowned the 
united labors of pastors and people. 

As an interesting item of history it may be stated that 
the first District Conference in the whole Church was 



168 Sunset Memories. 

held, under the new provision of Discipline, at Decker- 
town, on Newton District, September 25, 26, 1872, the 
writer presiding, and the Rey. John F. Dodd acting as 
secretary. By the common verdict it was a pronounced 
success. Another similar one was held at Newton, 
February 5, 6 r 1873, and was graced by the welcome 
presence of Bishop Foster, whose sermon and addresses 
were listened to with profound attention and interest. 
His personal address to me at the district parsonage, in 
presence of the preachers and laymen of the district, was 
of special interest to myself and family, being rendered 
doubly; surprising and weighty by the well-filled purse 
that crowned it. Added interest followed in the read- 
ing by Brother Dodd of an appreciative original poem 
which is still carefully preserved. 

During the quadrennium several new churches were 
built and dedicated, an average of at least two for each 
year; besides which old debts were either paid off or 
greatly reduced, and good progress made in building or 
improving parsonages or relieving them of debt. The 
recently purchased district parsonage, located at New- 
ton, engaged a large share of attention and called forth 
vigorous efforts by pastors and laymen to meet the finan- 
cial obligations held against it; nor did they fail of a 
fair measure of success. 

Among the eminent ministers who rendered their 
valuable services at our church dedications, were Bishop 
Janes, Drs. John Miley and Robert L. Dashiell, the Revs. 
Lewis R. Dunn, James S. Chadwick, John D. Blain, and 
Charles Larew, each of them preaching at one or more 
of the following places: Hamburg, Newfoundland, Ver- 
non, Unionville, Branchville, Hurdtown, Lake Hqpat- 
cong, and Dingman's Ferry (Riverdale). 

An interesting feature of a presiding elder's life on 
this district was his association with the Sussex County 



Chronological Glimpses. 169 

Bible Society in its annual meetings. Prominent in this 
society were Judge Ryerson, ex-Governor Haines, Dr. 
Ryerson, etc., of the Presbyterian Church, through 
whose influence such men as the Hon. William E. Dodge 
and Dr. S. I. Prime were brought from New York or 
elsewhere to address the annual meetings, thus giving' 
opportunity to those living remote from the centers to 
see and hear them. The stated annual sermon, however, 
was preached quite as often, to say the least, by some 
Methodist minister as by any other. The secretary of 
the society at that time was the Rev. James N. Fitz 
Gerald, now bishop, who continued to hold the office 
while he remained pastor at Newton, his successor in 
the office being one of our prominent laymen, the Hon. 
Hiram C. Clark, to whose faithful'and efficient services 
during the years that have followed the society has been, 
and still is, especially indebted for its success. 

Very few parsonages on the district were visited 
by death during my term, yet they were not wholly ex- 
empt. From the home of Brother John F. Dodd, at 
Lafayette, was borne away a lovely child, after tender 
obsequies conducted by the writer. At Hainesville 
the pastor, the Rev. George O. Carmichael, fell asleep 
in Jesus March 3, 1872, and two days after was con- 
signed to his last resting place amid deep regrets and 
many tears. 

A few pleasant episodes occurred in lines matrimonial. 
I say episodes, for the solemnization of marriage is 
practically forfeited by one's appointment to the presid- 
ing eldership, this cheerful service being properly con- 
fined to the pastors, with here or there an exception. 
One of these exceptions took me to Paterson to officiate 
at the marriage of Oscar Jeffery, Esq., of Washington, 
N. J., and Miss Emma Wilde, of the former place, her 
pastor, the Rev. Jesse L. Hurlbut, assisting. The 



170 Sunset Memories. 

happy days of nuptial bliss elapsing since have been as 
numerous as the days themselves. 

Another exception occurred much nearer home, in 
the marriage of Mr. Frank M. Hough, a leading 
merchant of Newton, as also a prominent, influential 
member and officer of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
But a few yards from his own inviting home he stood 
with his handsome bride while the writer pronounced 
them husband and wife, his pastor, the Rev. Charles C. 
•Win an s, assisting in other parts of the ceremony. The 
nuptial occasion was not more delightful than the do- 
mestic happiness that followed has been complete. 

The marriage of one of our young townsmen brought 
me again into pleasant association with the pastor just 
named, this time as his assistant. The comely bride 
w r as Miss Ella M. Gordon, daughter of a skilled and use- 
ful blacksmith known and respected by all. The bride- 
groom was a dexterous, industrious, progressive printer; 
and the wedding was a very pleasant affair. Since then 
Mr. John S. Gibson has risen to marked prominence 
and influence as an editor, a popular and eloquent politi- 
cal speaker, and the incumbent of an important lucra- 
tive public office in the city of Newark — that of comp- 
troller. 

Not the least delightful of all the occasions in this 
line was the marriage of the Rev. Alexander Craig to 
Miss Ella Hart, at the genial home of her brother, 
William H. Hart, Esq. The pleasant day, the befitting 
arrangements, the quiet and select company, the family 
connections on either side, and the character of the 
parties combined to give special interest to the time 
and place. The very generous fee was in keeping with 
the man. The prominent position in the Church since 
held by them, and the useful work accomplished are 
well known. 



Chronological Glimpses. 171 

Of the happy homes and delightful associations of 
this large district I am forbidden to write, except to 
make a bare record of some names of the sainted dead : 
Peter Smith, Esq., of Waterloo ; Brothers J. Osborn, 
Clark, and Rose, of Stanhope ; Judge Iliff, of Newton ; 
Brothers Bedell and S. H. Hough, of Branchville; 
Mother Stoddard, of Deckertown ; Brother M.Wilson, of 
Wantage; L. E. Elston, Esq., of Port Jervis; Brother S. 
M. Palmer, Mrs. Sherman, Brother Samuel Utter and 
wife, of Milford, Pa.; Brother Jesse Bell and Theodore 
Shea, of Hainesville; Brother Timothy Shea, of Walpack; 
Mrs. Robert Blair, of Johnsonsburg, and, very recently, 
Brother Joseph Ayres, of Tranquillity. Doubtless many 
other choice spirits have ascended since those well-remem- 
bered days of toil and triumph. May the larger numbers 
who still survive follow them as they followed Christ! 

It is a pleasure to recollect that at least six young 
men, who afterward, with one exception, became honored 
members of Annual^ Conferences, began their itinerant 
career on this district " under the elder " during these 
four years, namely, the Revs. Samuel W. Gehrett, of 
Philadelphia* Conference ; William Eakins, William Mc- 
Cain, and John H. Timbrell, of Newark Conference ; 
Walter A. Chadwick, of New York Conference, and 
William W. Fellows, who changed denominations. 

For the bestof all reasons our residence at Newton must 
ever be held in special and sacred remembrance. Here 
our children were saved and brought into fellowship with 
the Church, some of them under the ministry of Brother 
FitzGerald, and others under that of Brother Winans. 

Trinity, Newark, 1873-76. 

Here we met a cordial welcome from a generous, de- 
voted people. The reception at the parsonage was 
cheerful and hearty. 



172 Sunset Memories. 

Here the Sunday school was an interesting and impor- 
tantfactor in the work of the church. Its prosperity, un- 
der the efficient superintendence of Brother William H. 
Fairlie, suggested and made possible a reseating of the 
main room and other improvements in all the basement 
rooms of the church, by the liberal contributions of the 
school. Among his successors is the present efficient 
superintendent, Brother Atha B. Crooks. Here, also, the 
prayer meetings were occasions of more than the usual 
interest and enjoyment, a special feature being the su- 
perior singing which enlivened them. For this we were 
indebted under God to two of the sweetest prayer meet- 
ing singers in the land, Brothers J. S. Morriss and C. 
Robshaw. The leader, Brother Morriss, displayed rare 
judgment and taste in his selections, and both of them 
sang with a fervor and unction which seemed to bring 
heaven very near to earth ; and as they sung so they 
prayed. Here, too, the old-time class meetings were in 
good measure maintained. The veteran leader of the 
Sunday morning class, Brother John C. Dennis, is well 
remembered, and, though now dead, he yet speaketh. 
Another well attended and prosperous class had for its 
vigorous leader Brother Morriss; and yet another was in 
charge of Brother Warrick. Here was a church around 
whose beginning and early history clustered many dis- 
tinguished names. 

Here occurred a social event of peculiar interest to 
us — the marriage of our eldest daughter, Julia B., to 
Charles A. Dennis, previously spoken of. A son of the 
veteran leader above mentioned, he has been giving in 
these later years a most tender, impressive illustration 
of the command, " Honor thy father and thy mother," 
both of whom, when disabled by age and infirmity, 
found a loving home in his home, where each in turn 
came down to a calm deathbed " sustained and soothed 



Chronological Glimpses. 173 

by an unfaltering trust," and whence each with befitting 
honors was borne away to " the house appointed for all 
living." In all the kindly ministrations of that home 
toward the venerable pair, and singly toward the mother 
after the father's death, the daughter-in-law shared fully 
and affectionately with the son. 

Here we were favored each year with blessed revival 
influences, under which precious souls in goodly num- 
bers were saved and brought into the Church. 

By the courtesy of the Newark Preachers' Meeting I 
served as its president for two or more successive years. 
The weekly sessions were held in the parlors of St. 
Paul's Church, of which Dr. Charles N. Sims was then 
pastor, to whose regular attendance and strong influence 
the meeting owed much of its success. Some of us re- 
call with pleasure the happy Monday gatherings enjoyed 
at his table through the generous urbanity of himself 
and Mrs. Sims. An added personal favor to me was his 
careful inspection of Rachel Weeping for her Children, 
followed by his appreciative " Introduction." 

Here, just on the eve of our leaving for the new 
charge, a genuine surprise came to me in the form of 
an elegant upholstered student's chair, which is still do- 
ing good service and is likely yet to do for years to come. 

Fulton Street, Elizabeth, 1876-79. 

Our appointment to this charge was a new surprise, 
but proved to be among the happiest and best. That 
it contained a percentage of " peculiar people " was not 
strange, since to escape them altogether one must needs 
go quite out of the world. With a comfortable house, 
a good-sized church, a large congregation, a strong offi- 
cial board, an interesting Sunday school, and a live 
class-attending membership, we had much to encourage 
us in our work of faith and labor of love. 
12 



174 Sunset Memories. 

Our children, fast growing into early manhood and 
womanhood, found safe and agreeable companionship 
among the many young people of the church. So strong 
at length did the young element become that steps were 
taken to organize a young people's prayer meeting. Did 
any oppose it ? O, certainly, a few of the older breth- 
ren ; but the meeting was quietly formed and proved 
an eminent success in every point of view. Each Sat- 
urday evening witnessed the coming together of a com- 
pany of Christian young people ambitious for spiritual 
advancement £nd usefulness. Two of the young men of 
that meeting afterward went forth under the call of the 
Spirit to devote themselves to the work of the ministry 
in the Newark Conference, the roll of which bears the 
names of Andrew Henry and John McMurray. 

Here a coveted pleasure came to us through the char- 
acteristic kindness of our two good friends, Major Wil- 
son and Mr. P. H. Wyckoff, neither of them a member 
of the church, but both of them liberal supporters, Mr. 
Wyckoff being also a trustee. He was prominently con- 
nected with the Central Railroad of New Jersey as gen- 
eral freight agent; and Major Wilson had a heart and a 
purse as rotund as his handsome person. From the 
former came the happy surprise of round trip passes for 
myself and wife to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 
in Philadelphia, accompanied by the wherewith from the 
latter to meet our boarding and incidental expenses. 
The problem that had been puzzling us was now solved, 
and we were not slow in setting out on our delightful 
trip or tardy in our sight-seeing of the wonders of the 
great Centennial. The death of Major Wilson after we 
left the charge was preceded by his genuine conversion 
and emphatic declarations of faith in Christ. 

I must write of another special friend, but can do it 
only with mingled joy and sadness. Thomas Winsor, a 



Chronological Glimpses. 175 

cultured and brilliant lawyer, was the only son of the 
Rev. George Winsor, so long and favorably known as a 
minister of the Xew Jersey and Newark Conferences. 
The son was a member and officer of the Fulton Street 
Church. The familiar maxim, " Liberal to a fault," was 
applicable to him with a double emphasis. His lovely 
wife was attacked with pulmonary disease, and, after 
many alternate hopes and fears, calmly entered into rest. 
Standing in the pulpit at the funeral, I thought and 
spoke of his only sister, Mary, whose funeral services I 
had conducted at Woodrow, Staten Island, fifteen vears 
before. This was a new and yet greater sorrow. After 
a suitable lapse of time he sought and found another 
wife, cultured, refined, wealthy, affectionate. Alas! 
that he should have been eauffht in the toils of the 
drink habit! The rest is soon told. With business 
ruined and health broken down, he goes to his widowed 
mother's home at Milford, Pa., to suffer a little longer 
and then die, several years short of middle life. Was he 
saved? Those who were with him in his last sickness 
believe that he was, on the one only condition of " re- 
pentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus 
Christ." Largely through his generous influence our 
youngest son was able to enter and pass through Dr. 
Pingree's preparatory school, and afterward enter and 
become a graduate of the Xew York University, which 
Mr. Winsor was ever proud to call his own alma mater. 
Fain would we forget his weaknesses and failures and 
think only of his generous, noble qualities of mind and 
heart. 

During our term here some needed repairs were put 
upon the church and a pressing indebtedness canceled, 
thereby preparing the way for a new parsonage enter- 
prise, which was entered upon and completed after our 
departure. It is pleasant to remember that the Quar- 



176 Sunset Memories. 

terly Conference of this church honored itself in giving 
local preacher's license to one who has since risen to 
distinguished prominence and usefulness, the Rev. Jona- 
than M. Meeker, Ph.D., now of the Cincinnati Confer- 
ence. That he still calls me -' pastor " seems not hu- 
miliating to him and is accepted as a compliment by me. 
A review of the probationers' list indicates the ingath- 
ering of several .scores of souls during this pastorate, 
the chief increase occurring the second year. The 
names of the many friends, devoted and true, whom we 
left behind in this growing charge can only be remem- 
bered and cherished, not written. 

Would that in these later years the wolf of division 
had not entered to scatter the sheep of so goodly a fold! 
Without attempting to locate the responsibility, the fact of 
a serious wrong somewhere is but too obvious. " United 
we stand, divided we fall." 

Trinity, Staten Island, N. Y., 1879-82 (Second 

Time). 

Having reached and passed my majority of absence 
from this church, I was appointed to it again, the con- 
ditions having meanwhile, however, become greatly 
altered. On the one hand, it had been tapped by Grace 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and, on the other, by Cal- 
vary Presbyterian Church, reducing both the member- 
ship and congregation, especially the latter. The parson- 
age had grown old and less comfortable, many of our 
former parishioners had died or moved away, while the 
increase of population had been but small; yet the status 
of the charge in point of salary had risen many per cent. 

The project of building a new parsonage, or at least 
greatly enlarging and improving the old one, soon be- 
came a very live question, and several meetings of the 
official board were held and plans discussed with refer- 



Chronological Glimpses. 177 

ence to it; but it became apparent at length that the 
great diversity of opinion among the brethren, though 
thoroughly good-natured, was proof that the conditions 
were not yet ripe for such a movement. So the pas- 
tor's advice to postpone the whole subject indefinitely 
was quietly accepted as the best thing to be done. 
The proper ripeness of conditions was reached a few 
years after, and a superb new parsonage took the place 
of the old. 

The Sunday school session was held the year round 
in the morning, and the pastor was expected to serve 
as teacher of the adult Bible class, which met in one of 
the side rooms of the church. The superintendent, 
Brother A. C. Hillyer, desired this arrangement still 
continued, which to my mind seemed not a little for- 
midable, the last hour before preaching having hitherto 
been peculiarly sacred and important to me in the 
study. I told him of my embarrassment, but said, " I 
am here as pastor to serve the church and the Sunday 
school to the utmost of my ability, and shall do it in 
whatever way you and the brethren may deem best." 
Many were the happy and, I trust, useful hours spent 
by me in that Bible class. 

There came a time when the room greatly needed re- 
pairing and refurnishing, to provide the necessary funds 
for which our son, pursuing his college course, and other 
members of the class resolutely set about the work of 
arranging for a concert of high order, which in due time 
was held at Griffeth's Hall and proved a success, finan- 
cially and otherwise, even beyond the highest expecta- 
tion, the net result being about $130. This was expended 
for the purpose designed, making the room both com- 
fortable and attractive, the effect of these substantial 
improvements being even yet apparent. 

As my pastoral term was closing a new and happy 



178 Sunset Memories. 

arrangement was made for the class under which a thor- 
oughly competent layman would have charge of it as 
teacher. That layman was Captain Charles W. Ken- 
nedy, a cultured, consecrated Christian gentleman with 
few equals in any church. Both he and the excellent 
superintendent are now fast becoming veterans in their 
respective lines of work. 

While here, there came to reside among us a distin- 
guished and venerable couple, the Rev. John Robinson 
and wife, he being a superannuate of the Erie Conference, 
in which when younger he had been a man of great 
power, physically, intellectually, and spiritually, plain 
traces of which power were manifest in his old age. His 
great familiarity with the Bible enabled him to recite 
his scripture lessons with closed book when about to 
preach. His sermons, prayers, and testimonies were a 
benediction, as were also the presence, testimonies, and 
prayers of his saintly wife. They resided with their 
son, Dr. S. Robinson, an eminent physician whose kind- 
nesses to us personally we shall never be able to repay. 

A noteworthy event was the visit of Drs. Hurst and 
Fowler in the interest of Drew Seminary, of which the 
former, was at the time president. This was the church 
from the pastorate of which he had gone, several years 
before, to take charge of our theological school work in 
Germany. His old friends at Trinity were glad to see 
and hear him again; and they gave a hearty welcome to 
Dr. Fowler, as one with whom they had become ac- 
quainted through his editorship of The Christian Advo- 
cate, though they had never before heard or seen him. 
He preached on Sunday evening, Dr. Hurst having 
preached in the morning; and the reader may be sure 
there was vigorous " begging" at each service on that 
memorable day. Part of the time they were entertained 
at the parsonage, and afterward at the more commodious 



Chronological Glimpses. 179 

home of Brother A. C. Hillyer, the sequel but a few 
years later showing that we had been entertaining two 
coming bishops " unawares." 

Although no such extensive revival attended this sec- 
ond pastorate as had crowned the first, yet each year, 
especially the second, witnessed the conversion of a 
considerable number. 

Here came another farewell surprise, this time a double 
one, enriching the hand of the pastor's wife with a beau- 
tiful gold watch, and investing his own person with a 
handsome wrapper for use in the study and the home. 
How true that " there is none abiding!" The latter 
gift became worn out in honest, useful service; the 
other, some years later, quietly stepped "down and out" 
one day at noontide on the dexterous feet of a bedroom 
thief, who, worse than Judas Iscariot, never returned to 
confess his crime or restore his dishonest booty. 

New Providence, N. J., 1882-85. 

The Conference session of 1882 was held in one of 
our stately churches, and, from occupying the bishop's 
chair by his authority on the last evening till near its 
close, we were sent by that same authority to a parson- 
age home which, by common consent, was quite unfit 
for occupancy by any respectable family. Was it strange 
that the pastor's wife who, for many years, had borne 
" the burden and heat of the day " in serving the Church 
and caring for a large family should give expression to 
her deep sorrow in tears, or that the sorrow thus experi- 
enced should insensibly impair her health and hasten 
the sudden death in which in less than seventeen months 
after stilled her beating heart ? 

Meanwhile, my own health had succumbed to the 
heavy strain which three sermons and a ride of eight 
miles each Sabbath had imposed upon me, the breakdown 



180 Sunset Memories. 

coming early in June of our second year and obliging a 
perfect rest of my broken voice during the next four 
months. A part »of this time was occupied in visiting 
friends, my wife remaining behind to care for the home 
and entertain the various ministers who had been en- 
gaged to fill the pulpit. While in Cape May County, a 
letter told me of her sickness, which, though not con- 
sidered dangerous or even serious, led me to shorten my 
intended absence and hasten back to our home. 

None too soon was my return. She was able to meet 
and greet me on the front lawn, and for a few days to sit 
with us at the family meals; but during the next Sun- 
day night she was suddenly attacked as she had been 
two weeks previously, then, however, to find relief, now, 
alas ! to wrestle in vain with the insidious heart trouble 
which a few years before, as the sequel proved, had 
marked her for a victim. At break of day, August 13, 
1883, her troubled heart had ceased to throb, there being 
present the family physician, Dr. Corey, our youngest son, 
Horatio M., and the two younger daughters, Hattie and 
Mellie, with the writer. Our home and our hearts were 
desolate beyond description. 

Three days later the funeral services at the church 
were attended by a large congregation, including nu- 
merous relatives, with friends from former charges, and 
about thirty ministers of the Conference, addresses being 
delivered by Presiding Elder Joseph H. Knowles, and 
the Revs. Crook S. Vancleve, Ralph S. Arndt, and 
Thomas H. Smith. Next day a new-made grave at 
Cedar Lawn, Paterson, N. J., received all that was mortal 
of my faithful, devoted, beloved Amelia, the Rev. Charles 
C. Winans conducting the burial service. A fitting 
memoir from the pen of Dr. J. M. Freeman was published 
in The Christian Advocate, and the next spring read by 
him at the Conference memorial service. 



Chronological Glimpses. 181 

Five months and more after our changed life had here 
begun I received the following episcopal letter, which 
sufficiently tells its own story without note or comment 
from me : 

"September 6, 1882. 

" Dear Brother Vansant : I intended shortly after 
the Newark Conference to write to you, for I wanted to 
say some things which it was not possible, in the hurry 
of the Conference session, to say. I felt very keenly the 
singular and unexpected combination of unfortunate 
circumstances which resulted in New Providence being 
your home. I could say what I know would convince 
you of my best will and earnest sympathy with you and 
your dear family. But I know you will take some things 
for granted, and that my undiminished good feeling to- 
ward, and effort to accommodate, you will be one. . . . 
" Yours very truly," etc. 

Coincident with my first Sunday on the charge, before 
moving, was the lamented death of one of the most 
prominent members and officers of the church, Mr. 
John Wood; but I was taken sick and became unable 
to attend the funeral services, which were conducted by 
the Revs. James M. Tuttle and Charles S. Coit. 

Amid all our embarrassments we quietly entered in 
good heart upon the work of our new field. One of the 
first things to engage attention was that of repairing the 
parsonage. I was especially urged to this by our near- 
est neighbor, Mr. E. F. Williams, with whose elegant 
home directly opposite the dilapidated parsonage stood 
in humiliating contrast. He said the trustees were too 
busy with their own affairs to attend to it, and added, 
" If you don't do it, it will not be done ; " then for my 
encouragement he said he would give me his check for 



182 Sunset Memories. 

one hundred dollars that day, which he did. With such 
practical interest shown by a citizen not connected with 
the church, how could I do otherwise than proceed ? A 
meeting of the trustees was secured, to whom I said, 
" If you will authorize the necessary repairs and appoint 
an advisory and auditing committee I will collect the 
needful funds, buy the materials, hire the workmen, and 
pay all bills, with the understanding, of course, that you 
render the aid of your personal contributions according 
to ability/' The trustees were only too glad to take me 
at my word, and the work was promptly begun, vigor- 
ously prosecuted, and satisfactorily completed. 

Another meeting of the trustees was held, to which I 
reported that the total subscriptions had been sufficient 
to cover the entire cost of over five hundred dollars ; 
that every subscription had been collected without the 
loss of a dollar or a cent ; that every workman had been 
paid, and every bill settled in full, with three dollars and 
forty cents remaining in my hands, which they voted I 
should keep. Thus we were made comfortable and they 
happy, while all the people were glad. 

About ten months after the death of her whom we 
mourned the parsonage witnessed the quiet marriage of 
her sister, Mrs. Emma R. Buckhout, and Mr. Sherman 
Broadwell, which proved a source of great domestic 
happiness to both. Five months later occurred the 
marriage of our surviving twin daughter, who had now 
reached a bright and useful young womanhood. The 
two ladies, mentioned elsewhere, for whom she and her 
mate had been named, were present to superintend the 
home preparations, besides whom a very small number 
of friends had been invited. Amid the mingling of 
tender memories and joyful anticipations she became the 
wife of Mr. Harry M. Wagner, a young man of Balti- 
more, Md., whose personal character, with his family, 



Chronological Glimpses. 183 

church, and business relations, rendered him full worthy 
the hand of his happy bride. 

Here I served as pastor of not only one of the most, 
but of the most, remarkable of all the men of my ac- 
quaintance — S. Thomas Day. Stricken with blindness 
in slacking lime six months after his marriage, he lived 
to be the father of seven sons and a daughter without 
ever seeing one of them, the whole number, with no ex- 
ception, growing up possessed of rare excellences; he 
himself a member and officer of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and each one of his sons the same, the daughter 
becoming the wife of one of our ministers, the Rev. 
Stephen H. Jones; his own father, the Rev. Stephen 
Day, an ordained local preacher, and four brothers, the 
Revs. Mulford Day, Benjamin Day, Peter D. Day, and 
Edwin A. Day, members of Annual Conferences, with 
three other brothers, Stephen, Daniel, and Francis, mem- 
bers and officers of the Church ; his mother an almost 
lifelong Christian, with a fair prospect, but for a fall, 
of becoming a centenarian; and his wife, still living, a 
woman, as anyone might readily infer, of superior judg- 
ment, energy, and wisdom. Where can be found a 
parallel ? The conversations, prayers, and testimonies 
of S. T. Day still ring in the writer's soul as inspirations 
to hope and courage and work. 

Other important families might be named, as Burnett, 
Wilcox, Valentine, Dickinson, Corey, Ulrich, Samson, 
Nevins, Durie, and Johnson at New Providence; and 
French, Stevens, Coon, and Smalley at Union Village. 

The extraordinary afflictions through which I had 
passed were followed by fervid expressions of an unfal- 
tering, triumphant faith, published in The Christian Ad- 
vocate. Soon after, I spoke to Dr. Buckley, the editor, 
of my embarrassment in having written so frankly and 
fully about myself, to which he kindly replied that the 



184 Sunset Memories. 

article had doubtless found a ready and deep response 
in the hearts of hundreds of readers. It is here given as 
thus published: 

Faith and Feeling. 

BY THE REV. N. VANSANT. 

One of the blessed lessons taught me in my late sick- 
ness was the value of faith — a fixed, unquestioning faith 
in Jesus and his word. Stripped of all else, nothing 
was left to me but " naked faith;" but this proved 
enough, quite enough. As the hand of disease pressed 
more and more heavily upon the helpless body my whole 
emotional nature seemed under bonds. Joyless, grief- 
less, tearless, I lay for weary weeks with cloudless mind, 
in the calm exercise of the steady, restful faith. 

Had anyone asked, " Do you feel happy?" the an- 
swer must have been, " No, but I am happy, for, ' Blessed 
[happy] is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin 
is covered/ " Or, " Do you feel that you are a child of 
God and an heir of heaven ?" "No, but I am sicre of 
it, for ' The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, 
that we are the children of God: and if children, then 
heirs.'" Or, "Do you feel that should you die you 
would go to Jesus ? " " No, but I know it, for ' We know 
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dis- 
solved, we have a building of God, an house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens. . . . We are confi- 
dent, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the 
body, and to be present with the Lord.' " 

The pressure of affliction lifted, the unbound tide of 
emotion began to flow as aforetime in " joy unspeakable 
and full of glory." Now I know, as never so fully be- 
fore, that the soul's great sheet-anchor of safety in 
trouble is a firm, immovable faith. Such a faith, kept, 
becomes in turn a keeping faith. 



Chronological Glimpses. 185 

In reading Paul's last epistle — second Timothy — I 
hear him shout from his prison cell at Rome, " I have 
kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a 
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
judge, shall give me at that day; " and then, turning to 
Peter's first letter, I hear him sending back from far-off 
Babylon the gladsome response, " Who are kept by the 
power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be 
revealed in the last time." 

While the above — written and dated August n — was 
awaiting transmission to the editor, there suddenly came 
to me, but two days after, a new and most painful ex- 
perience. God's ancient servant Ezekiel, in relating his 
own sorrowful bereavement, tells the sad story of mine: 
"Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son 
of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of 
thine eyes with a stroke; " the touching sequel of which 
he writes in the few tender words, " And at even my 
wife died." More sudden still was the fulfillment of 
our later premonition. Scarcely a brief hour had fol- 
lowed it when the beloved wife, the modest but heroic 
sharer of my itinerant toils and successes, sorrows and 
joys, for almost thirty-nine years was also taken away 
with a stroke. Ah! then I understood the psalmist's 
deep bemoaning as I could not before — " All thy waves 
and thy billows are gone over me." 

Will faith stand the test of this sorer trial ? If under 
physical prostration too great for feeling, whether of joy 
or grief, it proved itself master of the situation, how will 
it be now, when " all the fountains of the great deep " of 
emotion are " broken up" and " the water-flood" of 
sorrow " overflows " the whole being? Will the sheet- 
anchor still hold? Thanks be to God, it will — it does! 
In the inner soul-realm it is peace, blessed peace; not, 
indeed, peace after the storm, nor yet peace quelling it. 



186 Sunset Memories. 

but peace in the midst of it. The winds and the waves 
of sighing grief and gushing tears continue, nor would I 
have them stayed ; but the divine Master's " Peace, be 
still" steadies the beaten bark and withholds from sub- 
mergence beneath the agitated waters. 

Only a few days before this sorrowful experience I 
had read and marked for future reference a sweet pas- 
sage in Fenelon, which now comes to me as part of the 
heavenly Father's preparation for a more perfect walk- 
ing by faith, and not by sight: " Whoever will try it will 
soon find that this way of naked faith, rigidly followed, 
is the profoundest and most complete death of self. . . . 
To suffer ourselves to be stripped within and without at 
once — without by providence, and within by the night 
of pure faith — this is a total sacrifice and a state the 
farthest possible from self-deception." 

New Providence, N. J., Aug. 24, 1883. 

Chatham, N. J., 1885-88. 

The beautiful parsonage here was nearly new, having 
been occupied but about one year by our predecessors, 
the Rev. Salmon D. Jones and wife, through whose ex- 
ertions largely it had been built, under the wise plan- 
ning and supervision of architect George W. Bower. 

Here I found a veteran couple, Brother Harvey Bond 
and wife, to whom I had ministered in my pastorate of 
1845, 1846. Well-preserved and happy, they celebrated 
their golden wedding a year or two since. Here, also, 
were Brother H. W. Pierson and wife, previously men- 
tioned, who were still active in church work. But in 
the main the membership and congregation consisted 
of a new generation very few of whom I had ever 
known, including the names Kelley, Bower, Lees, Conk- 
lin, Hall, Hopping, Carter, Sheldon, Mesler, Ford, 
Muchmore, Taylor, Smith, Morgan, Fouratt, Brewster, 



Chronological Glimpses. 187 

Spencer, Morgan, Broadwell, Genung, Bruen, Riker, 
McCarl, Hill, Ryerson, Phipps, Munson, Pollard, Sid- 
man, Struble, Hesse, and Reed. Among our best, as 
they were our nearest, neighbors were Mr. Edward 
Taylor and family, on the one hand, and Mr. J. T. 
Wagner and family, on the other. A member of an- 
other Church, Mr. A. M. French, Congregationalist, 
kindly consented to become our Sunday school super- 
intendent, serving as such with great acceptability and 
usefulness. 

The parsonage here was the scene of two social 
events of peculiar interest to us. The first was the 
home-bringing of one between whom and myself was 
thenceforward to subsist the tenderest of all human re- 
lationships — that of husband and wife. The memorable 
date when the name of Miss Josephine L., daughter of 
Mr. W. W. Tunis, of Madison, N. J., became changed 
to mine was December 30, 1885, the Rev. Joseph H. 
Knowles officiating. Said an intimate friend on becom- 
ing acquainted with her soon after, " That marriage was 
made in heaven; " so we believed then, and so during all 
the years that have since passed we and our children 
and friends have continued to believe. The other 
event was the marriage of our youngest daughter to 
Mr. P. T. Wood December 7, 1886, my sixty-third 
birthday. A genial company gathered to witness the 
ceremony and enjoy the quiet festivities of the even- 
ing. The bridal tour included a trip by ocean steamer 
to Florida. 

At considerable expense, provided for in advance, the 
church and parsonage were repainted and a substantial 
new drain built along the front of the former. The 
garden spot in rear of the parsonage was for the first time 
cultivated, to which was added the planting of grape- 
vines donated by Mr. Sheldon, the fruit of which has 



1C8 Sunset Memories. 

been enjoyed by our successors. Ornamental vines 
were also set out before the front piazza. Mention is 
made of these small improvements because life is 
largely made up of little things. 

Some measure of revival influence was realized each 
year, adding somewhat to the numerical and moral 
strength of the church. Near the close of the last year 
we organized a Christian Endeavor Society, of which 
Brother M. K. Hopping became the efficient president. 

Afterward it took on the name and character of an 
Epworth League chapter, under the same officers, and 
is still continuing to do excellent work. 

I must not fail to mention that the New Year's Day 
of 1886 was a notable one at the parsonage. Having 
made preparation for successive calls, we waited in 
quiet expectancy to welcome them; but none came, and 
hour after hour passed, only to intensify our disap- 
pointment. What did it mean ? Were our parishion- 
ers offended by the installation of a new wife and 
mother in the parsonage ? No one but the daughter 
knew, and she skillfully concealed her knowledge by re- 
marking in perfectly natural tone and manner, " If no 
calls come I think it will be shabby treatment." Hav- 
ing about settled down in quiet despair, at eight o'clock 
or soon after the lpng spell was broken by the ringing of 
the bell and the sound of footsteps. I was asked to 
wait on the door, the opening of which revealed a 
throng of both sexes and various ages, who had mani- 
festly come to take possession, notwithstanding that 
well-known maxim of the old English law that " a man's 
house is his castle." The surprise was perfect, and to 
the number of seventy or eighty they entered and took 
the freedom of our house. Never did a company enjoy 
or impart more genuine pleasure. The congratulations 
w r ere many and hearty; nor this alone 3 for an excellent 



Chronological Glimpses. 189 

timekeeper, in form of a beautiful mantel clock, fell to 
the lot of the wife, while a superb adjustable chair, 
suitable for health or sickness, for youth or hoary age, 
was made over to the husband. From these and mani- 
fold other proofs of genuine friendship the people of 
Chatham can never cease to hold a large and warm 
place in our hearts. 

Port Oram, N. J., 1888, 1889. 

My successor at Chatham, the Rev. Joshua Mead, 
was my predecessor at Port Oram. Here I found large 
congregations and, with but two exceptions, the largest 
Sunday school in Morris County, these exceptions being 
in Morristown. It was under the efficient management 
of Brothers W. H. Tongking and E. W. Rosevear, each 
of whom has since become a local preacher. The old- 
fashioned class meeting was here maintained in much 
of its primitive simplicity, the membership, consisting 
mostly of Cornish miners and their families, being di- 
vided into classes, the weekly meetings of which they 
were expected to attend. As to prayer meeting work- 
ers, their equals in numbers and talents I have rarely 
found in city or in country. 

Two good local preachers of several years' standing, 
Brothers Eustice and Cook, were found ready to ren- 
der all needful assistance to the pastor. The latter 
since then has passed to his reward; the former has 
been employed much of his time in pastoral work 
under the presiding elder, and the spring of 1895 was 
elected by the Newark Conference to deacon's orders 
and ordained by Bishop Hurst. Three excellent ex- 
horters, Brothers William Champion, James Moyle, 
and John Trenberth, made themselves useful in many 
ways. The last named has since become a pastor in 
the Primitive Methodist Church, and Brother Moyle has 
13 



190 Sunset Memories. 

entered the ministry of the Methodist Church of Can- 
ada. The choir furnished sweet music under the able 
leadership of Brother Josiah Curtis, by whose worthy 
successor, Brother Rosevear, this part of the service is 
still happily sustained. The official board was a large 
and strong one, with a secretary, Brother Samuel Davis, 
as good as the best. 

Besides the homes of those mentioned there were 
many others which extended a warm welcome and 
bountiful entertainment, as those of James T. Spargo, 
our wonted headquarters, Farr, Dunkin, Kice, James, 
Bullock, Osborn, Richards, Williams. 

A young people's society for intellectual and social 
improvement had been organized and kept in success- 
ful operation, the meetings of which we found a source 
of interest and pleasure. I suggested the addition of a 
new department of exercises, that of " literary inquiry," 
in which the blackboard should be freely used. This 
was adopted and proved a means of real profit, especially 
in the orthography and pronunciation of words. 

At length came the time to favor Zion, "yea, the set 
time, ,, resulting in a glorious revival. It began unex- 
pectedly in a Sunday night prayer meeting after the 
sermon. The pastor invited any who desired to be 
saved to rise, whereupon three young men arose and, 
after further invitation, came to the altar. That was a 
sudden call to the church to " go forward," and the 
call was obeyed by the appointment of a meeting for 
the next night, and so on for every night during the 
next six or eight weeks, not excepting Saturday or 
holiday evenings, until a hundred souls in round num- 
bers had professed conversion. Many thrilling incidents 
might be given of that gracious work, the blessed fruit 
of which is seen more and more. Not an extra sermon 
was preached, and no outside help rendered, except as 



Chronological Glimpses. 191 

near its close three earnest brethren of Morristown, 
Messrs. Hedges, Green (deceased January 18, 1896), 
and McCollum, passed an evening with us. Among the 
valuable accessions that came to the church were Dr. H. 
W.-Kice and wife, the latter by certificate, the former on 
profession of faith experienced in a neighboring revival. 

One of the regular attendants at church was Mr. E. 
E. Potter, who has now been more than twenty-five 
consecutive years the trusted and useful principal of the 
Port Oram public school. This unusual fact, com- 
bining with his superior scholarship, extensive knowl- 
edge, thorough self-possession, plain, open manner, 
great compass of voice, and marked power in debate, 
serves to render him a citizen of special and well-de- 
served note. To number such a man among one's 
honest friends is a genuine pleasure. 

Having been mysteriously changed at the end of one 
year, it is no small comfort, on revisiting this charge, to 
find so many open hands and hearts and homes ready 
to welcome us with a cordiality peculiarly refreshing. 
My successors have been Dr. Charles Larew, an old and 
intimate friend, the Rev. Henry Bice, and the present 
beloved pastor, the Rev. Abraham M. Harris. 

St. John's, Rossville, Staten Island, N. Y., 1889-92. 

This small station was set off from the old Woodrow 
charge in 1876, with the Rev. Salmon D. Jones as its 
first pastor. That it had not with the years increased 
to a larger and stronger appointment resulted chiefly 
from a constant decrease in the neighborhood popula- 
tion. Its principal officers were the Rev. Jesse Oakley, 
a local elder, H. H. Seguine, S. W. Benedict, J. G. 
Winant, J. C. Winant, J. Johnson, D. M. Ayres, Mrs. J. 
C. Disosway, and Miss Mary Cole, besides whom may 
be mentioned several excellent families : Woglom, 



192 Sunset Memories. 

Sleight, Dixon, Turner, Moore, Williams, and Meyer. 
During most of our time W. B. Sharrot served usefully 
as superintendent of the Sunday school. Three vener- 
able members and former active officers of the church, 
Brothers Isaac C. Winant, John V. S. Woglom, and 
James J. Winants, passed away, the writer officiating at 
the largely attended funeral of each. I had known 
them all, having been their pastor forty years before, 
and now saw them in turn come down to a peaceful 
end. The last-named left a beautiful example of 
Christian patience and resignation during a long and 
trying affliction. After an active and successful busi- 
ness life he was overtaken, sixteen years before his 
death, by a paralysis which affected his whole body 
and continued without intermission to the last; but his 
mind was preserved in conscious serenity and trust, of 
which, however, he was able to give but little expres- 
sion in words. His devoted wife for so many years, 
with two sons and two daughters, still lives to cherish 
and honor his memory. 

Yet another of those long-ago parishioners whose 
names stood on the records of St. John's reached the 
quiet end of her pilgrimage, Mrs. Susan A., widow of B. 
P. Winant. For years she had been unable to attend 
church, but, though deprived of " the communion of 
saints," she still maintained her communion with God 
and left assuring testimony of victory in death. The 
funeral occasion gave us opportunity for interesting 
reminiscences. 

The semicentennial anniversary of my entrance upon 
the pastoral work occurred December 4, 1890, and was 
appropriately celebrated. A large congregation gathered 
at the church and listened with deep interest to ad- 
dresses from the Revs. Abraham M. Palmer, James R. 
Bryan, John O. Winner, William B. Wigg, Enoch V. King, 



Chronological Glimpses. 193 

and Isaac N. Vansant, as also to an original poem writ- 
ten for the occasion by the Rev. Thomas H. Smith, the 
merits of which fully entitled it to publication. Special 
music was rendered, including the singing of an original 
hymn written by the pastor. Before the dismission a 
double surprise came to me in the well-chosen forms of 
a handsome gold pen and a beautiful Rochester lamp, 
the one with which to write, and the other to give need- 
ful light. The first presentation address was made by 
our little Sunday school orator, Aimee Oakley, and the 
second by her venerable grandfather, Jesse Oakley. 
After our departure her devoted mother, who so de- 
lighted in the training and early development of her only 
child, died amid many regrets, leaving her to the care 
of others ; and not long after the aged grandfather ex- 
changed his earthly life of long and useful service for 
the eternal rest of heaven. Much interest gathered 
about the parsonage on that memorable evening, both 
before and after the church service. On turning up my 
plate at the family supper table I found, adhering to it 
in a circle five shining eagles, representing the fifty 
years of my itinerant ministry. This well-planned 
surprise had been concerted by our children, all of 
whom, save the daughter at Baltimore, were present. 
The joy was mutual, theirs as the donors being exceeded 
only by ours as the recipients. After the public services 
the speakers and a large number of other friends re- 
paired to the parsonage to enjoy the refreshments so 
bountifully provided by the ladies of the congregation. 

Several months before this a legacy of about $1,500 
from the estate of Mr. Orlando Wood had come into 
possession of the trustees, enabling them to liquidate a 
debt on the church building of $600, to expend $300 
and over on church repairs and improvements, leaving a 
considerable balance to be used for the enlargement of 



194 Sunset Memories. 

a hall belonging to the church and standing directly. op- 
posite. This accomplished, the enlarged building, at 
the pastor's .suggestion, took the name of " Orlando 
Hall " in honor of the generous legator. , 

The parsonage was owned by Captain J. Johnson Wi* 
nants, and since 1876 had been occupied by the pastors 
and their families, either free of rent or at a very small 
rental consideration. In the autumn of our first year 
several needed improvements were put upon the build- 
ing and a well of good water added at the expense of 
the owner, under the wise direction of his son, J. J. Wi- 
nants, Jr., to whom the father had several years before 
intrusted the management of his business. The gener- 
ous owner having repeatedly expressed an intention to 
give this property to the church, it was supposed that 
provision to this effect would be found in the will; but 
this proved not to be the case. His noble wife,: how- 
ever, who sp fully knew and sympathized with his wish, 
proceeded to supply the omission at her own expense 
by purchasing the property, which under the will had 
fallen to the children, and then conveying it by deed to 
the church. v 

In spiritual results this pastorate was a disappointment. 
Among the means used were the labors o>f Mrs. M. E. 
Lowry, a well-known and successful evangelist, who came 
at the, pastor's invitation and by consent of the church, 
and whose discourses were especially able, eloquent, and 
powerful, producing a deep impression upon the large 
congregations in attendance. Why not a marked re- i 
vival ? As it was, some were saved. 

With mingled emotions our thoughts turn back to 
this, the last and the least of our pastoral charges, in 
which we are glad to reckon some as among; our best 
and most valued friends" on earth. 



PART IV. 

MEMORIES OF NEW JERSEY AND 
NEWARK CONFERENCES. 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 197 



PART IV. 

Memories of New Jersey and Newark Conferences, 

1842-96, 

THE first session of the New Jersey Conference was 
held in April, 1837, it having been till then a part 
of the Philadelphia Conference. In 1841, four years 
after its organization and one year before my admission 
on trial, I began attending its sessions. Our annual ex- 
aminations in the four years' course of study began with 
the Conference of 1843, and were always looked forward 
to with very great interest, sometimes even nervous anx- 
iety, which, however, in the end as often proved to have 
been needless. 

The committees of examination embodied various 
types of men, represented somewhat as follows: Rev. 
Jefferson Lewis, the austere, yet a true friend to all true 
young men; Rev. John S. Porter, the dignified, yet 
when understood as approachable, open, and simple as 
a child ; Rev. Joseph Chattle, the gentle, a plain, practi- 
cal, useful minister, with no airs and much piety; Rev. 
Abram K. Street, the painstaking combined with the 
earnest, himself thoroughly prepared for his examina- 
tion on Wesley's Sermons, and inviting similar prepara- 
tion from the whole class by furnishing to each in ad- 
vance a list of the questions to which he expected 
answers ; Rev. William Roberts, the scholarly, a cultured 
gentleman whose look, manner, and utterance gave to 
the class a delightful home feeling in his presence. 

In 1846 the latter was selected by the board of bishops 
as superintendent of the Oregon Mission; sailed from 
New York with instructions from the missionary board 



198 Sunset Memories. 

to explore California, where he stopped six weeks and 
organized the first church in San Francisco; reached 
Oregon in June, 1847, and took the place of the Rev. 
George Gary as superintendent of the mission work on 
the Pacific coast; in 1849, by direction of Bishop Waugh, 
organized the Oregon and California Mission Conference, 
which was under his superintendency four years; in 1856 
was delegate to the General Conference at Indianapolis, 
and the next three years agent of the American Bible 
Society; was then stationed at Portland, Ore., and 
served as presiding elder of the Portland District. He 
died August 22, 1888. A few years ago, at Ocean Grove, 
the writer, with many other old friends, enjoyed again the 
pleasure of seeing his genial face and feeling the grasp 
of his warm hand. Born at Burlington, N. J., in 1812, 
he was an honor to his native State and to the Church. 

Besides these five typical men we found ourselves 
in the hands of a dozen or more others, taking the 
four years together, but none of them ever expressed 
censure over our lack of delight with Claude's Essay or 
our failure to indorse everything we found in Dymond's 
Moral Science. By common consent all around, the one 
member of our class who passed the best examination 
in Whateley's Logic was the Rev. Henry B. Beegle so 
recently dismissed from the flesh. His was a long and 
beautiful record of fidelity, purity, and usefulness. 

All of the early members of this Conference whose 
names were mentioned in the semicentennial address 
have passed away, with the single exception of the Rev. 
Abram K. Street, who at this writing still survives in a 
happy old age. It is gratifying to be able to recall the 
names of thirty-seven still living brethren of the New 
Jersey Conference with whom the class of 1842 held 
Conference relations a longer or shorter time from the 
close of that year till the opening of 1857, when the 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 199 

Newark Conference was officially separated from the New 
Jersey. Here follow the names in alphabetical order: 
Revs. Aaron E. Ballard, Henry M. Brown, Peter Y. 
Calder, Thomas C. Carman, Philip Cline, John P. Con- 
nelly, John I. Corson, Edward H. Durell, Caleb K. 
Fleming, William Franklin, Jacob B. Graw, John J. 
Graw, Thomas Hanlon, Robert S. Harris, John S. 
Heisler, Charles W. Heisley, Charles E. Hill, Samuel 
M. Hudson, George Hughes, Alvin M. Lake, William 
Margerum, Albert Matthews, George H. Neal, Hamilton 
S. Norris, William B. Osborn, Samuel E.Post, Matthias H. 
Shimp, Thomas D. Sleeper, John L. Souder, William C. 
Stockton, Elwood H.Stokes, Mordecai C.Stokes, Richard 
Thorn, James Vansant, William Walton, Edwin Waters, 
and Thomas S. Wilson. Hail, veteran comrades in "the 
good fight of faith," till we "lay hold on eternal life! " 

Newark Conference. 

In 1865 the mother Conference issued a " Memorial " 
volume containing a record of all the ministers in its 
fellowship who had lived and died up to that time. It 
was a book of thrilling interest. The Newark Confer- 
ence in 1888 took action looking toward the compila- 
tion of a similar volume, but after several postpone- 
ments the project was abandoned in 1892. This fact 
suggested to the writer the idea of incorporating a me- 
morial chapter in the present volume, which of neces- 
sity must be done on a limited scale. It will at least 
serve the purpose of a thesaurus or dictionary for con- 
venient reference, with brief personal reminiscences 
added. The number of names on our death roll, ex- 
tending from 1858 to 1896, inclusive, is ninety-six. All 
the essential facts in each case are given in the tabu- 
lated form published in the Conference Minutes, which 
we here reproduce: 



200 



Sunset Memories, 



IN MEMORIAM. 
41 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." — Rev. xiv, 13. 



No. 


Name. 


Date of 
Death. 


Place of Death. 


Age. 


Years 
in Min- 
istry. 


1 


Ichabod B. Carmichael. . 
John K, Shaw 


Jan. 11, 1858 
Oct. 4, 1858 
May 9, i860 
May 28, i860 
Oct. 9, i860 
Feb. 22, 1862 
Mar. 8, 1862 
Jan. 7, 1863 
Apr. 17, 1864 
Sept. 6, 1864 


Vernon. N. J 

Newark, N. J 

East Newark, N. J. . . 
New Providence, N. J. 

Flatbush, N. Y 

Sussex Co., N. J 

Hampton Roads, Va. . 

Plainfield,N. J 

Hohokus, N. J 

Verona. N. J 

Jacksonville. Fla 

Newark, N. J 

Petersburg, Va.. 

Roxburg, N. J 

Hudson City, N. J.... 

Sparta, N. J 

Montana, la 

Jersey City, N. J 

Swartswood, N J 

Basking Ridge, N. J. . 

Clarkesville, N. J 

Bridgeville, N. J 

Madison, N. J 

Hanover, N. J 

Denville, N. J 

Newark, N. J 

Hainesville, N. J 

Perth Amboy, N. J... 

Port Jervis, N. Y 

Morristown, N. J 

Elizabeth, N. J 

Jacksonville, Fla 

Woodrow, S. I., N. Y. 
Hackettstown, N. J.. 

Newark, N. J 

Newark, N. J 

Hackensack. N. J 

New Providence, N. J. 

Port Jervis, N. Y 

Newaik, N. J 

Denville, N. J 

Newton, N. J 

Trenton, N. J 

Newark, N. J 

Jersey City, N. J 

Trenton, N. J 

Rahway, N. J 

Westfield, N.J 

Bethlehem, Pa 

San Leandro, Cal 

Paterson, N. J 

Hilton, N. J 

Eaton town, N. J 

Washington, D. C. . . . 
Milford, Pa 


35 
58 
60 
56 
48 
' 73 
57 
36 
50 
32 
57 
3o 
5o 
58 
5i 
54 
39 
58 
24 

79 
48 
88 
55 
36 
69 

43 
38 
50 
60 
39 
47 
69 
1 00 
69 

57 
86 

55 
75 
61 

55 
52 
53 
70 

63 
6 4 

57 
84 
6q 
63 
58 
77 
62 

56 
73 
7i 
74 
78 
88 


4 
33 
3 1 

35 


3 
4 
5 
6 


Thomas McCarroll 

Thomas W. Pearson 

Dayton F. Reed. ........ 


Manning Force 


5i 
32 

7 
25 

5 
29 

4 
26 

33 
24 
24 

15 

32 

3 

53 


7 

8 

Q 
10 


John L. Lenhart 

Sylvester Armstrong 

William M. Burroughs. . . 
George W. White 


11 
12 
J 3 
*4 
*5 
16 

17 

t8 


Wesley Robertson 

Wm. M. Lippincott 

Warren C. Nelson 

Oliver Badgeley 


Nov. 2, 1864 
Feb. 23, 1865 
May 6, 1865 
Oct. 1, 1865 
Feb. 9, 1867 
Mar. 4, 1867 
Jan. 7, 1868 
Nov. 24, 1868 
Feb. 10, 1869 
Mar. 4, 1869 
Jan. 2, 1870 
Feb. 9, 1870 
Mar. 4, 1870 
July 12, 1871 
July 26, 1871 
Nov. 13, 1871 
Mar. 3, 1872 
Aug. 31, 1873 
Dec. 24, 1874 
Jan. 4, 1875 
July 17, 1875 
Nov. 18, 1875 
Dec. 28, 1875 
Mar. 24, 1876 
July 18, 1876 
Jan. 5, 1879 
July 7, 1879 
Jan. 23, 1880 
Feb. 16, 1880 
Mar. 8, 1880 
\ug. 26, 1880 
Oct. 21, 1880 
Aug. 13, 1881 
[an. iq, 1882 
Mar. 6, 1882 
Apr. 24, 1882 
May 12, 1882 
Sqpt. 1^, 1882 
Apr. 10, 1883 
Feb. 25,1884 
Apr. 25, 1884 
May 23, 1884 
Nov. 9, 1884 
Nov. 21, 1884 
Dec. 28, 1884 
Apr. 14, 1885 
May 23, 1885 
Apr. 29, 1886 


Samuel Y. Monroe 

Reuben Vansyckle 

John Summerfield Coit.. 
Hiram Mattison 


*9 
20 


William Stikeman 

Waters Burrows 


21 

22 

2 3 
24 

25 
26 


Henry Trumbower 

George Banghart 

John McClintock 

Benjamin F. Simpson. . . . 

Caleb A. Lippincott 

Alfred Cookman 


27 
60 

35 
10 

4i 
24 

*5 

28 

32 
19 
27 

41 
74 
45 


2 7 
28 
29 
3o 
3i 
32 
33 
34 


George O. Carmichael. . . 

Stacy W. Hilliard 

Benjamin Kelley 

John Hanlon 

Robert Boyd Yard 

John Sanford Swaim 

Henry Boehm 


Isaac N. Felch 


35 
36 
37 


John D. Blain 

Bartholomew Weed 

Thomas Walters. 


34 

62 

30 
5i 

35 
32 
26 

23 

49 
39 
39 
34 
56 
44 


38 

39 
40 

4i 
42 

43 
44 

45 
46 

47 

48 


James Ay ars 

Jonathan T. Crane 

Robert L. Dashiell 

William H. Dickerson. . . 
Sylvester H. Opdyke.... 

David W. Bartine 

Fletcher Lummis 

Michael E. Ellison 

Jonathan K. Burr. . 

James H. Dandy 

Rodney Winans, 


49 

5o 
5i 

52 
53 
54 
55 
56 
57 
58 


Jacob P. Dailey 


38 


Stephen K. Russell 

Sylvanus W. Decker 

Edward M. Griffith 

Edwin A. Day 


19 

45 
40 

33 


Isaac Cross . . . . 


49 


George Winsor 


45 
4i 
43 


Thomas T. Campfield... 
David Graves 


Washington, N. J.... 

Newark, N. J 

Navesink, N. J 


liromwell Andrew 


57 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 201 



IN MEMORIAM— Continued. 



No. 


Name. 


Date of 
Death. 


Place of Death. 


Age. 


Years 
in Min- 










istry. 


59 Tohn Faull 


Feb. 4, 1887 
Apr. 11, 1887 


Sergeantsville. N. J. . . 

Hackensack. N. T . . . . 


66 


37 
5 1 


60 James O. Rogers 


74 


61 James N. Revs 


May 14, 1887 


Deckertown, N. J ... 


63 


33 


62 William G. Wiggins 


Sept. 10, 1887 
Nov. 22, 1887 


Paterson. N. T 


66 


43 


63 Tames M. Tuttle 


Spring Lake. N. ] . . . . 


78 


51 


64 fames H. Runyon 


Tan. 19, 1888 


Tottenville, N. V 


54 


3 2 


6^ William Tunison 


Apr. 8, 1888 


Orange, N. T 


62 


4i 


60 Cornelius Clark, Sr 


Tuly 17, 1888 


Rahway, N. T 


75 


3°" 


67 Peter D. Day 


Oct. 10, 1888 


New Providence. N.J. 


77 


S6 


68 Tohn Scarlett 


Jan. 18, 1889 


Orange, N. T 


86 


4« 


69 Toseph R. Adam^ 


Mar. 21, 1880 


Metuchen. N. J 

Pennington, N. J 


65 
75 


39 
54 


70 Crook S. Vancleve 


ATar. 3, 1890 


-1 William AW Voorhees . . . . 


Sept. 12. : : : 


Liberty Falls. N. V. . . 


= -' 


34 


72 Tohn S. Porter 


Oct. 2, 1890 


Burlington. N. I 


8s 


61 


Am s H. Belles 


Apr. 22, 1891 


Newark, N. T 


75 


42 


74 Benjamin Day 


Oct. 17, 1801 


Ann Arbor, Mich 


84 


59 


75 Charles Maybury 


Feb. 18, 1892 


West Town. N. Y 


,8 


8 


- Amb/ose S. Compton. . . . 


Feb. 20, 1892 


Ocean Grove, N.J... 


68 


36 


77 
78 

- 


John B. Mathis 


Mar. 27, 1892 
Mar. 28, 1802 


Trenton, N. J 

Newark. N. J 

Newark, N. J 

Buenos Avres, S. A.. . 


77 
69 


40 
40 

59 
21 


Isaac W. Cole 


Tohn X. Crane 


July 9, 1892 
Tuly 29. 1802 


So Thomas H.Stockton.... 


53 


81 Thomas H. Smith 


Aug. _ 


Wyoming, N. J 


72 


42 


82 Ralph S. Arndt 


Aug. 17. 1892 
"■'ept. 11, 1802 


Newark. N. J 

Elizabeth, N. T 


66 


43 
45 


Alexander L. Brice 


70 


&| Albert H. Brown 


Oct. 7, 1893 


Newark, N. T 


64 


}8 


85 Tacob P. Fort 


Nov. 2:. :■ - 


Newark. N. T 


75 


5° 


Iz losiah F. Canneld 


Dec. 31. 1804 


Ocean Citv. N. T 


87 


65 


:- Thomas H. Jacobus. ... . 


Feb. 5, 189^ 


Tersey City, N. J 


59 


27 




Martin Herr 


Feb. 23, 1895 
Tulv 21. 1F95 


White House, N. J. . . 
Rutherford, N. T. . . . . 


75 
68 


5* 

44 


William Dav 


90 Charles H. Bassett 


Aug. 8, 180=; 


Paterson, N. T 


3° 


5 


91 Charles R. Snvder 


Sept. 8, 1895 


Newark, N. T 


S8 


34 


92 Nelson A. Macnichol. . . . 


Sept. 16, 1895 


Paterson. N. T 


43 


J 9 


93 Cyrenius A. Wombough. 


Jan. 3, 1896 


Orange, N. J 


70 


42 


94 
95 


Henrv Littz 


Jan. 31, 1806 Susquehanna. N. If . . 


7^ 
33 


36 

5 


Lewis G. Griffith 


96 John O. "\\ inner 


Mar. 4, 1896 Pennington, N. J 


70 


♦a 



Rey. Ichabod B. Carmichael was converted in 1834, 
when a boy, and became a useful member and officer of 
the Church. After many struggles he yielded to the 
call of God and the Church in 1853, by leaving his busi- 
ness as a farmer in Sullivan County, N. Y., and serving 
as junior preacher on Harmony Circuit, Warren County, 
X. J. The next spring he was received on trial in the 
New Jersey Conference and returned to the same circuit; 
in 1855, 1856, labored on Sparta Circuit, Sussex County, 
and in 1S57 was appointed to Vernon Circuit, where his 



202 Sunset Memories. 

brief itinerant career was ended by death within the 
Conference year. He was twice married, each time to 
a sister of the Rev. Reuben Vansyckle. His death was 
triumphant, his last words being, "Jesus is with me." He 
is pleasantly remembered as a devoted, earnest, and use- 
ful preacher. 

Rev. John Knox Shaw was born in Ireland April 10, 
1800, and within a year was brought by his parents to 
this country. He was marked by superior ability in the 
pulpit, great diligence in his pastoral work, and eminent 
usefulness in promoting the material and educational 
interests of the Church. He "took an active part in 
founding the Pennington Seminary ; " indeed, '* all the 
early records give him the credit of having originated 
the school," so that in a large sense it may be said of 
him that he was the founder of that great institution. 
Fifteen years after attending his impressive funeral serv- 
ices at Trinity (Warren Street) Church, Newark, just 
then completed through his industrious toil, the writer 
became pastor of the same church, where he found his 
name lovingly embalmed in the memories and hearts of 
the people. It was fitting that his three sons, of Bal- 
timore, Md., inheriting, with one daughter, Mrs. Run- 
yon, of Morristown, N. J., the noble qualities of their 
father, should give expression to their reverence for his 
memory in a superb volume of four hundred pages, 
bearing title, The Life and Words of the Rev. John 
Knox Shaw (1887). To this was ad,ded a beautiful 
tribute by the widowed mother, when at her more recent 
death she left the generous bequest of $1,000 to the 
Centenary Fund and Preachers' Aid Society of the New- 
ark Conference. He was admitted to the Philadelphia 
Conference in 1825, and spent thirty-three years in 
active, successful work, having been a member of the 
General Conferences of 1844 an d 1848. 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 203 

Rev. Thomas McCarroll, a man of singular mod- 
esty, purity, and lovableness, was born in Chester County, 
Pa., August 12, 1800. I was in a position to know him 
better than I could know most other men. As a friend, 
a preacher in charge, and a presiding elder, he was 
found in my experience to be without superiors and with 
few equals. He was a strong man in the pulpit and 
genial in social life; was a diligent student, and in his 
later years devoted himself with good success to the 
study of the original languages of Scripture. While 
recently visiting Mr. Thomas McCarroll at Morristown, 
N. J., the writer enjoyed the great satisfaction of look- 
ing again upon the well-preserved library of his father, 
with its choice collection of old and valuable works. 
Besides the son named he left two others, William and 
Charles, both of whom have since followed him in death, 
the funeral services of the former being conducted by 
the writer and Dr. John Atkinson. A few years earlier 
had come the obsequies of the venerable and beloved 
mother, in which the writer assisted, it having yet earlier, 
i860, devolved on him to preach the funeral discourse 
of the venerated husband and father at the Halsey Street 
Church, Newark, and to prepare his memoir. The only 
daughter, Miss Eliza, is living in loving remembrance 
of her dead. Brother McCarroll entered the Philadel- 
phia Conference in 1829, and w r as a member of the Gen- 
eral Conference of 1852. 

Rev. Thomas W. Pearson was born in Hull, England, 
December 8, 1804, and came to us by transfer from Troy 
Conference to the New Jersey in 1852, his successive 
charges being Asbury and Trinity, Staten Island, two 
years each; Otisville, N. Y., two years; Asbury again, 
two years; and New Providence, N. J., where he soon 
died. The funeral sermon was preached by his intimate 
friend, the Rev. J, L, G- McKown, the interment being at 



204 Sunset Memories. 

Asbury, Staten Island. I was his successor at Trinity, 
and served as a bearer at his funeral. His excellent 
wife survived him till July 8, 1894, living and dying at 
the happy home on Staten Island of their only daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Albert Vroom. Brother Pearson was a good 
scholar, a superior preacher, and a successful pastor. 

Rev. Dayton F. Reed was born in Simsbury, Conn., 
March 16, 181 7, and converted at twenty, when straight- 
way he began laboring with zeal for the conversion of 
others; was licensed to preach in 1839, and devoted the 
next ten years to the work of an evangelist, winning 
many souls to Christ; was admitted on trial by the New 
Jersey Conference in 1850, and went as a blazing comet 
from charge to charge, never remaining in any one more 
than a single year; in 1857 broke down in health; and 
in i860 died, "after a brief, but violent, attack of con- 
gestion of the brain." In originality of thought and 
vividness of description, especially in presenting the 
darker shades of truth, he was almost without an equal. 
As we heard him again and again, his pictures of "judg- 
ment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the ad- 
versaries," were startling in the extreme. His book, 
Duties, Tests, and Comforts, was a soul-stirring one, but 
never attained a circulation equal to its merits. He was 
a man of deep and uniform piety. His estimable widow 
is still living in Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Rev. Manning Force stood very high in both stature 
and influence. His ministry extended over the long 
period of fifty-one years. During much of this time 
"he held a commanding rank among his brethren, ,, and 
was " the compeer of Lawrence McCombs, Joseph Ly- 
brand, Joseph Rusling, Richard W. Petherbridge, and 
Charles Pitman." He was elected to six General Con- 
ferences — 1824, 1828, 1832, 1836, 1840, and 1848. The 
word " honey " was a favorite one with him, and he 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 205 

carried in his spirit and his life a rich measure of the 
sweetness signified by the word. He was one of my 
good presiding elders. His end was blessed. 

Rev. John L. Lenhart, a native of Pennsylvania," was 
chaplain in the United States Navy," and came to his 
death when "the ship Cumberland 'was sunk in Hampton 
Roads, Va., by the ironclad Merrimac." He is believed 
to have been the first minister to sacrifice his life in the 
war against the Rebellion. He had occupied a good 
class of appointments, his last one having been Cross 
Street, Paterson, where I came to know him more fully 
than before, and was a member of the General Confer- 
ence of 1856. He was a forcible preacher and a warm, 
genial friend. With a strong muscular body and a fiery 
disposition, he might, but for the grace of God, have 
become a pugilist. Those were beautiful words which 
he wrote to a friend just before the fatal attack of the 
Merrimac : " It is just as near my heavenly home from 
the old Cumbe7'land as from any other place." 

Rev. Sylvester Armstrong, born in the State of 
New York in 1826, was a frail man in body, but strong, 
according to his name, in mind and heart, in conviction 
and expression. " When in his best frame of mind and 
free from physical pain, his eloquent periods produced 
a thrilling effect. . . . He was a strong antislavery man 
and fearless in the utterance of his views." He possessed 
the spirit of a reformer and excelled as a debater. His 
peaceful death occurred at Plainfield, N. J., the last ap- 
pointment in his brief ministry. 

Rev. William M. Burroughs, born in Hopewell 
Township, N. J., July 21, 1814, " was a man of even 
temper, a lover of peace, and a promoter of harmony." 
" His mental powers were solid, rather than brilliant, 
rind his sermons were compact, instructive, and useful." 
He was greatly beloved by the people of his various 
14 



206 Sunset Memories. 

charges. I heard, never to forget, his last impressive 
testimony in love feast a Sunday or two before his sud- 
den death. He told of his conversion and call to the 
ministry, of his severe struggles in yielding to the call, 
and the joy that had come to him in his work. Apo- 
plexy had marked him for a victim. He left a beloved 
wife and three daughters. 

Rev. George W. White during his short ministry 
" gathered gems for the Master's crown," and "left the 
impress of a saintly life behind him." His charges were 
Fairfield and Pine Brook, two years; Chatham and 
Livingston, two years; Verona, where he entered into 
rest, less than half a year. His death was sudden. He 
was born in Sussex County, N. J., entered the Newark 
Conference in i860, and died at the early age of thirty- 
two. 

Rev. Wesley Robertson was born near New Provi- 
dence, N. J., and converted at Rahway under the minis- 
try of the Rev. Thomas B. Sargent; went out on his 
first circuit in 1835, and a year later entered the Phila- 
delphia Conference; labored in twelve different charges 
during the next twenty-one years, and became a super- 
numerary in 1857. His ministry was a very successful 
one, during which " he received over eighteen hundred 
persons into the Church on probation." He was gentle 
in disposition and manner, kind and sympathetic in 
social life and in the pulpit, yet was not wanting in 
earnestness. Dying far away from home, at Jackson- 
ville, Fla., he said, " Tell my friends not to weep for me; 
I am going home — sweet home." We all loved him. 

Rev. William Monroe Lippincott, only son of the 
Rev. Caleb A. Lippincott, was born at Newton, N. J., 
October 19, 1834, and began his very brief ministerial 
career by supplying the vacancy at New Providence oc- 
casioned by the death of the Rev. T. W. Pearson in i860. 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 207 

Entering Newark Conference the next spring, he was 
appointed to Irvington, where he continued two years, 
and was then stationed at Montclair, where after one 
year his health totally failed, the disease being con- 
sumption. Brilliant and successful in life, he was sub- 
limely victorious in death. " He often repeated the 
expression, ' I am on the sure foundation. Glory to God, 
I am resting in the arms of Jesus.' " 

Rev. Warren C. Nelson was born at Cold Spring, 
N. J., November 18, 1805, and converted at twenty- 
three; was employed as a supply on New Prospect Cir- 
cuit in 1835, and next year admitted on trial in the 
Philadelphia Conference. Thenceforward he labored 
efficiently on eleven different charges until 1852, when 
his health failed. Previous to the war he moved his 
family into Virginia, where he lost all his property. 
True to the old flag, " he rejoiced greatly when Peters- 
burg, his place of residence, was captured by our arms." 
His severe, brief illness found him ready and anxious to 
depart. 

Rev. Oliver Badgeley was born near Springfield, 
N. J., April n, 1807, and was converted at Morristown, 
N. J., in 1823, under the ministry of the Rev. John 
Potts. Entering the Philadelphia Conference in 1832, 
he filled fifteen charges: three in Pennsylvania, two in 
New York, and ten in New Jersey, filling one of the last 
group a second time. His record " sums up thirty-three 
years in the ministry — twenty-two in active service, 
eleven on the retired list." His death was very sudden, 
but sudden death was sudden glory. 

Rev. Samuel Yorke Monroe, D.D., was born at 
Mount Holly, N. J., July 1, 1816, and converted in 
Philadelphia in 1833. Though not a stalwart or impos- 
ing man in physique, he belonged to the race of true 
giants in mental and moral strength. His parentage and 



208 Sunset Memories. 

home life gave type in no small degree to his preeminent 
character. He was a man of mark from the beginning 
of his itinerant ministry, as is shown by the character of 
his charges. Every position lie was called to occupy 
was filled by him with eminent success. Superiority 
belonged to the man; and had he at the General Con- 
ference of 1864 been elevated to the episcopacy, the 
office and himself would alike have been honored. Ah, 
it was no wonder that a deep wail of anguish went up 
from the great heart of the Church in 1867 over the 
mystery involved in the peculiar death of such a man! 
He entered the New Jersey Conference in 1843, and was 
transferred to Newark Conference in 1864. He was a 
delegate to the General Conferences of 1856, i860, and 
1864, and at the time of his death was corresponding 
secretary of the Church Extension Society. 

Rev. Reuben Vansyckle, a classmate with Dr. Mon- 
roe, was " an interesting preacher, original, quaint, and 
sensible." Much of his life was a struggle with disease, 
constraining him shortly before his death to remark, u I 
have tried my best to rise above my disease, but I guess 
it will master me after all." Having embraced and 
kissed his children, he said, " All is ready, all is ready." 
To the question, " Is Jesus with you?" he replied, 
" Yes, glory to God," and soon passed away. He was 
born in November, 1822, and converted in his seven- 
teenth year. 

Rev. John Summerfield Coit, brother to the Rev. 
Charles S. Coit, was born September 17, 1828, and 
transferred in the spring of 1867 from the Newark Con- 
ference to the Des Moines, as a member of which he 
died of typhoid fever within a year. Little Mary had 
died two days before, and the bodies of father and child 
were conveyed in one casket for interment to Bloom- 
field, N. J., his native place. As we tenderly remember, 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 209 

the scene at the funeral was deeply solemn and affect- 
ing. His triumphant death was followed recently by 
that of the wife and mother; but two cultured daughters 
and a son, Dr. H. Leiber Coit, are left to illustrate in 
their character and lives the excellences of their honored 
dead. 

Rev. Hiram Mattison, D.D., was born in Herkimer 
County, N. Y., February 8, 1811, and joined the Black 
River Conference in the summer of 1836, two years 
after a very notable conversion. He soon rose to prom- 
inence and influence, which continued with increase 
during his busy life. His preaching was of a very high 
order, and his versatility of talent in both speaking and 
writing was remarkable. My special relations to him 
are set forth on other pages, and more at large in his 
Life and Character by the writer. He was a member 
of the General Conferences of 1848, 1852, and 1856. 

Rev. William Stikeman was born at Port Rich- 
mond, N. Y., August 9, 1845, and in his very brief life 
and ministry gave a succession of striking illustrations 
of the grace of God in saving and keeping, endow- 
ing and crowning. First came his thorough conver- 
sion in 1861, under the ministry of the Rev. James 
M. Freeman at Trinity Church, Staten Island; then his 
call to work for souls and his prompt response to the 
call; then his licensure to preach, and his employment 
as a supply on successive charges while yet in his teens; 
his admission to Conference in 1866, followed by his 
entire sanctification in 1867, and, later, by his happy 
marriage; his ordination as deacon in 1868 and marked 
success in his last charge; his utter failure of health, 
joy in suffering, victorious death, and jubilant admis- 
sion among the " early crowned. " The death of one so 
young, so pure, so useful and promising was sincerely 
mourned. 



210 Sunset Memories. 

Rev. Waters Burrows was born in Elizabeth, N, J., 
April 19, 1790, was converted in early manhood, and 
entered the Philadelphia Conference in 1816, his labors 
thenceforward covering the extensive territory now oc- 
cupied by the New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 
When, in 1837, his original Conference was divided 
and the New Jersey Conference formed the young men 
of the latter looked upon him as one of their leaders, 
and as such found him generous and helpful. He 
served two full terms as presiding elder. His " preach- 
ing was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but 
in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.'' He died 
peacefully at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Atward, 
of Basking Ridge, N. J., and his honored grave is at 
New Providence. 

Rev. Henry Trumbower was born in Bucks County, 
Pa., June 20, 1822, and reared in the Evangelical Lu- 
theran Church, but in his nineteenth year joined the 
Methodist Episcopal Church; two years after was 
licensed to preach, and employed as second junior 
preacher on Clinton Circuit; in 1844 entered the New 
Jersey Conference, and spent the next twelve years in 
active pastoral work, the balance of his ministry fluctu- 
ating between the effective and supernumerary relations. 
We knew him as a genial friend and an earnest, de- 
voted minister. In his last sickness and death he was 
signally triumphant. Happily, he has been succeeded 
in the ministry by a useful and honored son, the Rev. 
William M. Trumbower. 

Rev. George Banghart was a notable man in his 
day. His active ministry, beginning in 1812, covered a 
period of forty-one years, all of which were spent on the 
soil of his native State, New Jersey, excepting four 
years on North Philadelphia District and one year on 
Haverstraw, N. Y., Circuit. His preaching was full of 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 211 

earnestness and pathos, and as a pastor he excelled in 
warm and active sympathy with his people. He was 
greatly esteemed and beloved in the community, War- 
ren County, N. J., where he was born March 10, 1782, 
and passed so many of the closing years of his life. 

Rev. John McClintock, D.D., LL.D., was born in 
Philadelphia October 27, 18 14, and as a preacher, a 
scholar, and an educator held a place in the Church of 
marked preeminence, making his name and character 
very widely known. His simplicity was refreshing. At 
the dedication of a church in Poughkeepsie we were 
assigned to the same home for entertainment, in which 
it fell to our lot to occupy the same sleeping room and 
bed. Was he demure or reticent? Just the reverse; 
he was as cheerful and chatty as if I had been his full 
equal. " While a boy engaged as bookkeeper in the 
Methodist Book Room in New York he made a dis- 
tinct profession of conversion ; " graduated at the 
University of Pennsylvania in 1835, and entered the 
Philadelphia Conference; in 1836 became professor of 
mathematics in Dickinson College; in 1840 took the 
chair of ancient languages ; aided in translating Nean- 
der's Life of Christ; prepared, with Dr. Crooks, elemen- 
tary text-books in Latin and Greek; from 1848 to 1856 
was editor of The Methodist Quci7'terly Review; in 1856 
was elected a delegate, with Bishop Simpson, to the 
W r esleyan Methodist Conferences of England and Ire- 
land ; was a delegate to the Generai Conferences of 
1852, 1856, i860, and 1868. On returning he became 
pastor of St. Paul's Church, New York; in i860, ac- 
cepted the pastorate of the American Chapel in Paris; in 
1864, returned to the United States and was again pas- 
tor of St. Paul's. In 1867 he became president of Drew 
Theological Seminary at Madison, N. J., where he also 
edited, in cooperation with Dr. James Strong, the great 



212. Sunset Memories* 

Cydopcedia bearing their names, only the first three vol- 
umes of which had appeared prior to his death. 

Rev. Benjamin Franklin Simpson was born at York, 
Me., December 30, 1835, and converted when about 
nineteen. After passing two years at the Concord Bib- 
lical Institute, he was admitted on trial by the Newark 
Conference in 1862, and labored the next two years at 
Roseville, Newark. He was continued on trial and ap- 
pointed to Passaic, where he was drafted into the 
United States service July 13, 1864, and felt it his duty 
to go. Having fought in one of the hardest battles of 
the war he was appointed in October to a chaplaincy ; 
but he was unordained. What could be done? The 
Quarterly Conference of his church recommended him 
to the Genesee Annual Conference, soon to meet, for 
deacon's orders, besides which a paper indorsing the 
recommendation was signed by several leading ministers 
of the Newark Conference. Being his presiding elder, 
I went w T ith him to Elmira, N. Y., and stated our errand 
to Bishop Simpson, who brought the case before the 
Conference, which after hearing all the facts took favor- 
able action by electing him to deacon's orders. The 
ordination by Bishop Simpson followed at his private 
rooms. The failure of his health in 1869 was succeeded 
by months of patient suffering and a peaceful death. 

Rev. Caleb Atmore Lippincott was born in Burling- 
ton County, N. J., July 26, 1803, of Quaker parentage ; 
in 1825 was powerfully awakened at Pemberton, N. J., 
under the ministry of the Rev. Thomas Neall and 
soundly converted; in 1829 was sent by Presiding 
Elder Charles Pitman to Tuckerton Circuit, and a year 
later admitted to the Philadelphia Conference ; was " a 
burning and a shining light " for forty-one years ; and in 
1 87 1 ceased at once to work and live. Of a large, com- 
manding person, " he was a natural orator, and by prac- 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 213 

tice he acquired the complete mastery of his voice. His 
mind was full of imagery, his illustrations original and 
pertinent, and his powers of description remarkable. 
. . . He was preeminently a revivalist/' His last 
words were, u Lord Jesus, take care of me ! " 

Rev. Alfred Cookman came to the Newark Con- 
ference by transfer in the spring of 1871, but a few 
months before his death. The strong powers of mind 
and heart, expression and life, so happily blended in 
him have seldom been equaled. Amplification here is 
rendered needless by Dr. Ridgaway's widely circulated 
volume, The Life of Alfred Cookman. The writer's 
personal acquaintance with him, though limited, was 
sufficient to indicate that he was unusually endowed 
with both gifts and grace. Two of his sons are usefully 
pursuing the high vocation adorned by the father — the 
Revs. Frank S. Cookman, of the Newark Conference, 
and William W. Cookman, of the Philadelphia Confer- 
ence. 

Rev. George Oliver Carmichael, nephew to the 
Rev. Ichabod B. Carmichael, was born in Sullivan 
County, N. Y., October 31, 1833. With a very limited 
early education, after his conversion at seventeen he ap- 
plied himself diligently to the gaining of knowledge ; 
was admitted to the New Jersey Conference in 1857, 
having traveled one year under Presiding Elder Day, 
and thenceforward filled nine different charges until re- 
leased by death in 1872. His was a genial heart and a 
genial home. He was a good, useful preacher and a 
skillful financier. The day of his funeral is remembered 
as among the coldest of the season. 

Rev. Stacy Watkinson Hilliard, born near Vin- 
centown, N. J., November 14, 1823, was a man of far 
more than ordinary capabilities. His unfaltering cour- 
age and self-reliance greatly aided him in his work. 



214 Sunset Memories. 

He ardently loved his brethren, and was much loved 
by them. He served full terms on two different dis- 
tricts, Newton and Elizabeth, was a member of the 
General Conference in 1864 and a reserve delegate to 
those of 1868 and 1872. His conversion occurred 
during a revival at Pemberton, N. J., under the Rev. 
Thomas McCarroll in 1842, and was followed by a 
course of study in Pennington Seminary. In 1845 ne 
went to his first circuit, Allentown, under the Rev. Isaac 
Winner, presiding elder, and next year was admitted 
on trial in the New Jersey Conference. His useful 
career of twenty-eight years in the ministry closed at 
Perth Amboy, his last charge, after a very brief illness. 

Rev. Benjamin Kelley has been sufficiently charac- 
terized in another connection ; but this item of un- 
written history may be added: In the spring of 1873 
there was a serious faction in the church at Port Jervis, 
where the Conference was being held. The factious 
party held a private meeting to confer respecting a new 
pastor, the time of the old one having expired. After 
discussing many names they agreed upon several to be 
presented to Bishop Foster, with a request that one of 
them be appointed. The bishop laid the matter before 
his cabinet, which elicited various expressions of 
opinion. The case was felt to be a delicate and diffi- 
cult one on which to reach a decision. My term on the 
district was just closing ; and when appealed to I said, 
" The brethren named are all good men, but unfortu- 
nately they have been asked for by a faction, and not 
by the great body of the church or its representatives/' 
" Can you name a man ? " " I can." " Who is it ? " to 
which I promptly answered, " Benjamin Kelley; he can 
be appointed as pastor of the whole church, and is a 
man thoroughly safe and in every way fully competent. " 
He was appointed, with the happiest results. His 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 215 

ministry began in 1843, and continued thirty-one years 
with eminent success. 

Rev. John Hanlon had a great soul in a frail body. 
Born in Monmouth County, N. ]., June, 1836, he was 
converted at a camp meeting in the same county in 
1852, was licensed to preach in 1856, and admitted to 
the New Jersey Conference in 1857. Desirous of greater 
educational attainments, he entered Rutgers College, at 
New Brunswick, N. J., three years after, while stationed 
at Millstone and still continuing his pastoral work, his 
college course being completed at Wesleyan University, 
Middletown, Conn., in 1863, to accomplish which he was 
left a year without appointment. While he was stationed 
at Hedding Church, Jersey City, I came to know him 
well and to enjoy association with him in his home and 
his work. He was a very superior man in mind and 
heart. His wonderful sermon at Mt. Tabor in 1869 
made a deep impression and is still remembered by 
many. Again and again he said, as death approached, 
" It is sweet to die in Jesus," and sent affectionate 
messages to his brother, the Rev. Thomas Hanlon, and 
his brother-in-law, the Rev. John Atkinson. 

Rev. Robert Bovd Yard was born at Trenton, N. J., 
amid the best of social and religious advantages, 
January 9, 1828, was converted and called to the min- 
istry while a student at Pennington Seminary, and in 
1848 entered the New Jersey Conference. " Prepos- 
sessing in person, pleasing in address, rich in voice and 
musical skill, and with a highly religious character, 
Brother Yard's ministry began with much promise and 
has extended over the space of twenty-seven years with 
honor and usefulness." For two years he held a super- 
numerary relation, and for three years was a chaplain in 
the army. u With a delicacy and tenderness almost 
feminine were blended in a marked degree the qualities 



216 Sunset Memories. 

of a true manhood. " By all of us who knew him he 
was greatly beloved, and in return he could honestly 
say, as a part of his farewell message, " I love the 
Newark Conference." That full message, too long for 
quotation here, reads like an inspired homily. "Jesus 
is sweet, sweet, sweeter; heaven is near, nearer, near- 
ing," were .his last words. 

Rev. John Sanford Swaim was born at Chatham, 
N. J., May i, 1806, and was converted at fourteen, en- 
tered Philadelphia Conference in 1834, and became 
successively a member of New Jersey and Newark Con- 
ferences. His ministry extended over forty-one years, 
the last eleven of which were passed in a supernumerary 
relation. " His preaching was always instructive, and 
appealed rather to the intellect than to the emotions. 
He was a member of the General Conference of 1856." 
He was my predecessor, in ^54, 1855, at Commerce 
Street Church, Bridgeton, N. J., where we found that he 
and his family were greatly beloved. Having been ap- 
pointed in 1864 by Bishop Janes as missionary to 
Jacksonville, Fla., he found the climate so adapted to 
his health that he made it his permanent home. "I am 
wonderfully sustained " were among his last words. 
His body was brought to Newark, N. J., for interment, 
after appropriate funeral services, at the Halsey Street 
Church. 

Rev. Henry Boehm, our honored centenarian, was 
born in Lancaster County, Pa., June 8, 1775, and united 
with the Church in 1798; in 1800 was licensed to 
preach, and the next year entered Philadelphia Con- 
ference on trial. In 1808 he became the traveling 
companion and assistant of Bishop Asbury, and so con- 
tinued for five years. After this he was successively 
presiding elder of Schuylkill, Chesapeake, and Delaware 
Districts. At length his lot fell in the New Jersey, and 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 217 

then in the Newark, Conference, in both of which he 
was signally honored and beloved. He preached the 
first sermon in the German language in Cincinnati 
September 4, 1S08, and before 1810 he had preached 
the Gospel in German in nearly fourteen States. He 
passed to the retired list in 1837. Among our de- 
lightful memories is his remarkable centennial cele- 
bration at Trinity Church, Jersey City, June 8, 1875. 
His sermon — how clear, distinct, impressive ! Even 
after that he preached two or three times, once as late 
as October in Woodrow Church, Staten Island, where 
three months later his solemn funeral services were 
held. 

Rev. Isaac Newton Felch was born in Norwalk, 
Conn., July 17, 1806, and converted at a camp meeting 
held in September, 1826; was licensed to preach at 
Belleville, N. J., in 1830, the Rev. Charles Pitman being 
presiding elder, and entered the Philadelphia Confer- 
ence in 1 83 1. Thenceforward his useful labors were 
given to fifteen pastoral charges and two districts, cov- 
ering a period of twenty-seven active years. u He was 
a member of the Philadelphia Conference six years, of 
the New Jersey twenty years, and of the Newark nine- 
teen years." Always a good man, some years before his 
departure he experienced a signal uplift in his religious 
life and enjoyment, whereby his later years especially 
became radiant with " the beauty of holiness." His de- 
voted wife wrote thus to the Rev. M. E. Ellison, his 
biographer : " Having been married forty-two years, I 
would state that in every respect he was a devoted hus- 
band, a tender father. Always kind and cheerful under 
every circumstance of life, never omitting any Christian 
duty, his home life was pure and holy." His death was 
very sudden, but as safe as it was sudden. And now 
she whom he so ardently and so worthily loved has fol- 



218 Sunset Memories. 

lowed him to the eternal rest. He was a member of the 
General Conferences of 1848 and 1856. 

Rev. John D. Blain, born in Kingston, N. J., February 
24, 1 819, and converted in 1835, was the first member 
of the class of 1842 to fall in death. The whole class 
loved him. From 1852 till 1865 he labored with great 
success in California, both as pastor and presiding elder. 
In 1856 " he was sent to General Conference by a flat- 
tering vote." Returning East in impaired health, he 
supplied Washington Heights, New York city, and was 
agent for the National Temperance Society and the 
Newark Conference Seminary. In 1872 he resumed 
work in Newark Conference, and filled two charges, 
Belleville and Roseville, Newark, when his health se- 
riously declined. He was very affable, thoroughly con- 
scientious, and full of sympathy. As death drew near 
he said, " I am at the crossing. There is no dark- 
ness." 

Rev. Bartholomew Weed was born in Ridgefield 
(Danbury), Conn., March 6, 1793, and converted at six- 
teen. He joined the Philadelphia Conference in 1817 
and continued in the effective ranks forty-seven years, 
nine of which he spent in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri as 
pastor and presiding elder. During his last eleven years 
of life he was chaplain of Essex County, N. J., Jail, and 
was called to minister at intervals to three prisoners 
about to be hanged. " His entire ministry, including 
two years in the local ranks, extended over sixty-two 
years, of which forty-four were given to New Jersey, 
mostly within the territory of the Newark Conference." 
He had a passion for preaching ; and when told by his 
physician that his work was probably done he burst 
into tears and said, " What ! am I never to preach the 
Gospel any more ? " Among his last sayings was the 
golden sentence, " I find firm footing." He was a mem- 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 219 

ber of the General Conference of 1S44 from the Rock 
River Conference. 

Rev. Thomas Walters was born in England July 
18, 1S24, in a Methodist home. He was converted at 
fifteen, licensed to preach at nineteen, and soon after 
took his place on the circuit plan ; came to this coun- 
try in 1S47, and was admitted to the New Jersey Con- 
ference in 1S49 after preaching a few months as a sup- 
ply under Rev. I. X. Felch, presiding elder. Thence- 
forward he efficiently filled seventeen different charges 
in country or in city, covering a period of thirty years. 
He was a genial friend and an intelligent preacher, with 
a musical voice and pleasant manner. His death was 
sincerely mourned. 

Rev. James Avars was born near Bridgeton, X. J., 
Februarv 20, 1S0;, and converted when about twenty. 
He was a man of notable worth. His memoir by the 
Rev. J. E. Heward contained this concise summary of 
his lomr and useful ministrv: " He was five vears on cir- 
cuits, thirty years in stations, eight years a presiding 
elder, five vears secretarv ot the American Sundav 
School Union, and three years a superannuate, making 
in all fifty-one years a minister of the Gospel." He was 
a member of the General Conference of 1S52. Of his 
preaching I have spoken elsewhere. His friendships 
were warm and abiding. When nearing death he sent 
these expressive messages : u Tell him [his Conference 
classmate] I am on the Rock; " " Tell them [the New- 
ark Preachers' Meeting] I am in the old paths ; I do 
not want any newfangled religion ; Jesus Christ is a 
perfect Saviour.'' 

Rev. Joxathax Towxlev Craxe, D.D., was a man 
of sterling character and abilities. He was born near 
Elizabeth, X". J., of Presbyterian parentage, June 19, 
1S19; converted in his early youth; joined the Metho- 



220 Sunset Memories. 

dist Episcopal Church ; graduated at Princeton College 
in 1843 ; and entered the New Jersey Conference on 
trial in 1845. " Not often is it our privilege to contem- 
plate so harmonious, earnest, and productive a ministe- 
rial career." From 1849 to 1858 he was principal of 
the Conference seminary at Pennington ; then filled 
important stations till 1868, following which he served 
two full terms as presiding elder on Newark and Eliza- 
beth Districts ; was a member of four General Con- 
ferences — those of i860, 1864, 1868, and 1872 — and 
a reserve delegate to that of 1876 ; and became the 
author of six or more valuable books written in the 
purest and best style of English composition. His hon- 
est mistake in writing Holiness the Birthright of all God s 
Children was as honestly acknowledged in his latest 
years. His death was very unexpected and deeply 
deplored. 

Rev. Robert Laurenson Dashiell, D.D., was born 
at Salisbury, Md., June 25, 1825, and was converted at 
fifteen. He came to the Newark Conference in i860, 
by transfer from the Baltimore, and had filled success- 
fully four prominent charges when, in 1868, he was chosen 
president of Dickinson College. In 1872 he was made 
presiding elder of the Jersey City District, but in a few 
weeks was elected by the General Conference one of the 
missionary secretaries. To both that Conference and 
the one in 1876 he was a delegate, being in the latter 
year reelected to the same office. " His preaching was 
full of the passion of the Cross and yearned for the sal- 
vation of souls. . . . Often the tide of his eloquence 
flowed like a stream of oil on fire." His sickness ex- 
tended over four weary, but uncomplaining, months. 
Looking up, he said, "The shadows are all in the valley, 
the hilltops are gilded with glory beyond." 

Rev, William H, Dickerson was born in Berkshire, 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 221 

N. J., May 23, 1828, and converted when about twenty- 
one in Newark; served for a time as a local preacher; 
in 1855 was admitted to the New Jersey Conference, and 
during the next twenty-five years filled sixteen different 
charges in the territory of the Newark Conference. He 
was a good, earnest, sensible preacher and a diligent 
pastor, being especially gifted in exhortation and prayer. 
He was very fond of Camp Tabor, and reached it after 
a long ride by carriage on August 14, 1880, to make it, 
as the sequel proved, his mount of ascension to glory. 
When near the close of his brief sickness he said to the 
Rev. J. M. Tuttle: " All is bright. I trust in the atone- 
ment; I have joy in Christ." 

Rev. Sylvester Hill Opdyke was well worthy of 
the confidence and love which he so readily won. He 
was born at Everettstown, N. J., June 22, 1828, and con- 
verted in 1843. He prepared for college at Penning- 
ton Seminary, and entered Wesleyan University, where 
he was graduated in 1853; became professor of Latin 
at Charlotteville, N. Y., and also professor of ancient 
languages at Cooperstown ; studied theology in Union 
Theological Seminary, by which he w r as graduated, and 
in 1858 entered the Newark Conference, with eleven 
others. Then followed twenty-three years of effective 
service, including his presiding eldership of four years 
on Newton District. Once during his serious, and as 
was supposed fatal, illness at Mariner's Harbor, N. Y., the 
Revs. A. L. Brice, R. S. Arndt, and the writer stood in 
solemn silence about his bed when he broke the silence 
by speaking as follows in a distinct, though feeble, voice: 
" Brethren, there is one thing I want to say to you. Don't 
be afraid to die. I used to feel afraid of death — not 
that I dreaded its consequences, but there was such a 
shrinking back of nature from the thought of dying. 
Now even all that is taken from me, and I look upon 
15 



222 Sunset Memories. 

death with perfect composure and pleasure. Don't be 
afraid to die." He partially recovered, and the next 
spring became the pastor at Newton, N. J., where after a 
few months in the same sweet composure he yielded up 
his spirit to God. 

Rev. David Wesley Bartine, D.D., for nearly fifty 
years "held his place among the strongest and most elo- 
quent men of the American pulpit." In earlier and 
middle life he was a noble specimen of manhood, nearly 
six feet in height, stoutly built, and vigorous, with beau- 
tiful black hair, eyes large and brilliant, and a voice of 
wonderful sweetness and power. His soul was in keep- 
ing with his body. He entered the Philadelphia Con- 
ference in 1832, and became successively by transfer a 
member of the New Jersey and Newark Conferences ; 
served one term as presiding elder, and was three times 
elected to General Conference. Among my very pleasant 
recollections is that of my association with Dr. Bartine for 
a week as his roommate, during the Conference of 1874 
at Paterson, in the delightful home of Mrs. May, Bishop 
Wiley and Bishop Gilbert Haven being also guests at the 
same home. He was born at Trenton, N. J., March 17, 
181 1, was converted in youth, and received license to 
preach in 1831. 

Rev. Fletcher Lummis belonged to the class of 1842. 
We became acquainted in our boyhood when his vener- 
able father, the Rev. William Lummis, resided at Port 
Republic as one of the preachers on Bargaintovvn Cir- 
cuit. The son grew up to manhood with strong convic- 
tions and great firmness in maintaining them. "He 
had the courage of Luther to face and defy attack in 
the defense of his convictions." He was " an able 
preacher, often impressing his hearers with his burning 
words in an extraordinary manner, especially at camp 
meeting." Here his fertility of thought and expression 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 223 

in conducting revival prayer meetings day after day I 
have not seen equaled. His death was very sudden. 
In less than an hour after he had said to a passing 
stranger, on one of the streets of Newark, "I am sick," 
his spirit returned to God. But he was ready. He was 
born in Accomack County, Va., July 10, 1819, and con- 
verted at a camp meeting near Clayton, X. J., in 1835. 

Rev. Michael Earl Ellison was born at Juliustown, 
X. J., April 1, 1S18, and was another royal classmate of 
1842. Converted at nineteen while walking one of the 
streets of Wilmington, Del., he joined the Presbyterian 
Church in which he had been reared, but afterward 
united with the Methodist Episcopal Church; entered 
Pennington, X". J., Seminary in 1840; and two years 
after was admitted to the Xew Jersey Conference. From 
that time until 1882 he made such a record as pastor, 
presiding elder, and delegate to General Conference as 
greatly magnified the grace of God and would have done 
honor to any name. His deathbed testimonies were 
peculiarly terse and expressive. We can give only the 
last: u He saves to the uttermost; it is an uttermost sal- 
vation, and it is mine." Well did Dr. Porter in his 
memoir of him say. "Brother Ellison was an interesting 
man." The impressive funeral services in Hedding 
Church, Jersey City, were to have been .presided over by 
the writer, but he was not aware of this arrangement and 
arrived a little late, through the slowness of a Staten 
Island ferryboat. 

Rev. Jonathan Kelsev Blrr, D.D., was justly re- 
garded by many as a model man and minister. X'o name 
in our extended death roll represents more sterling quali- 
ties. Born in a godly Methodist home at Middletown, 
Conn., September 21, 1825, he joined the Church at 
thirteen, and at twenty was graduated from Wesleyan 
University in the city of his birth; then became a stu- 



224 Sunset Memories. 

■ 
dent at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and, 

having for a time served as a supply, entered the New 

Jersey Conference in 1848. He was a delegate to the 

General Conference of 1872, a member of the Society of 

Biblical Literature and Exegesis, also of the American 

Committee on the Revised New Testament, and served 

about two years (1867-8) as professor of Hebrew in 

Drew Theological Seminary. Bishop Simpson's Cyclo- 

pcedia of Methodism says that " he then returned to 

pastoral work," whereas during this time he continued 

the efficient pastor of Central Church, Newark. 

" His preaching was strong, deep, spiritual, and practi- 
cal. . . . Excellent as a preacher, he was still more ex- 
cellent as a pastor." " He was particularly effective in 
revival work." Sweet is the writer's remembrance of 
the hours spent in his genial, happy home. "I am 
holding on to my trust in Jesus," was his last reli- 
gious utterance. His wife, a " noble Christian woman," 
followed him in less than four months. 

Rev. James H. Dandy was born in Ireland Septem- 
ber 8, 1798, and converted when about nineteen; came 
to this country three years afterward, and in 1826 was 
admitted to the Philadelphia Conference, his fields of 
labor for the next thirty-one years being confined almost 
wholly to New Jersey. He was a thoughtful and able 
preacher, with social qualities rendering him a very 
agreeable friend. From 1857 until his death in 1882 his 
name stood on the retired list ; but he retained his sweet, 
cheerful spirit to the last, and died in great peace. 

Rev. Rodney Winans was converted in Newark, N. 
J., when a little past nineteen; early became a class 
leader; entered Dickinson College in 1835; was admitted 
to the New Jersey Conference in 1838, served as pastor 
of seventeen charges, and in 1861 became a supernume- 
rary, settling on a farm near West field, N. J., where he 






New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 225 

lived the next twenty-one years. " His sermons were 
always thoroughly studied and evangelical," while his 
life was marked by great conscientiousness, circum- 
spection, and consistency. Two of his sons became 
graduates of Drew Theological Seminary and entered 
the New York Conference. His death was very sudden. 
He was born on Governor's Island, Mass., January 6, 
1813. 

Rev. Jacob P. Dailey was born in Pittsgrove, N. J., 
August 23, 1820, was converted at seventeen, and soon 
after became impressed that it was his duty to preach. 
In 1845 he entered the New Jersey Conference and 
served in the pastorate without interruption for thirty- 
eight years, occupying twenty-two charges, three of them 
a second time each. " His retiring manner, gentlemanly 
bearing, and pure life won for him the confidence and 
esteem of all who knew him. As a preacher he was in- 
structive and practical, always presenting his subject in 
a clear and impressive manner." His last words spoken 
to his wife and children were, "Trust and love God; 
good-bye." At the funeral services held in St. Paul's 
Church, Staten Island, the writer was expected to speak, 
with others, but was hindered by a troublesome hoarse- 
ness. 

Rev. Stephen K. Russell became a probationer in 
the Newark Conference in 1865 and served ten years as 
a pastor, less one as a supernumerary. In 1879 he re- 
moved to California for his health and there preached 
as he had strength and opportunity, still retaining his 
connection with the Newark Conference; and there he 
came to a joyful death in 1884. " In the pulpit he was 
evangelical, earnest, and impressive;" in social life, 
"warm in his attachments, kind in his disposition, in- 
telligent in his intercourse, and refined in his manners." 
Shortly before his death he was visited by the Rev. 



226 Sunset Memories. 

Joseph P. Macaulay, then recently transferred from the 
Newark Conference to the California, to whom he re- 
plied, " Yes, I am just in sight of the beautiful city;" 
and to his dear wife he said, "Death is nothing; I am 
only peacefully and quietly sailing along in a smooth sea 
into the harbor." 

Rev. Sylvanus W. Decker was born in Orange 
County, N. Y., October 18, 1807, and converted in 1832. 
He was admitted to the New Jersey Conference in 1839, 
having previously served as a supply under the Rev. 
Manning Force, presiding elder. During the next thir- 
teen years he filled eight different charges; in 185 1 be- 
came State prison chaplain at Trenton; engaged in 
mercantile business and became deeply involved in debt, 
under the pressure of which he withdrew from the min- 
istry; removed to Jersey City and began business again, 
in which he was prospered; paid his indebtedness, 
principal and interest ; was restored to Conference rela- 
tions as a supernumerary with work, and removed to 
Paterson, " where he was looked upon as a man of God, 
pure in life, a generous giver, and an efficient worker in 
the Church." His last hours were triumphant. 

Rev. Edward Morrell Griffith was born near 
Elizabeth, N. J., March 5, 1822, and had a notable pedi- 
gree as a Methodist, his great grandfather, Robert Dun- 
can, having been converted under the preaching of John 
Wesley and afterward becoming a member of old John 
Street Church, New York. He himself was converted 
in his eleventh year, and entered the New Jersey Con- 
ference in 1844, following which his active ministry ex- 
tended over sixteen years in eleven different charges, 
when he became supernumerary. Resuming in 1867 he 
filled five additional charges, continuing till 1877, when 
his active work ceased altogether. His thrilling letter 
addressed to the Conference of 1883 told of an u'n speak- 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 227 

able joy in the midst of a wasting disease. By vote it 
was published in the Conference Minutes. u Brother 
Griffith was a student. His sermons were carefully pre- 
pared and, in the days of his strength, were delivered 
with energy and effect." Among his treasures, "handed 
down to him by sainted men," were "letters of Bishop 
Asbury, Thomas Morrell, and other fathers of the Ameri- 
can Church." 

Rev. Edwix A. Day belonged to the distinguished 
Day family of New Providence, N. J., and was born 
January 8, 1828. Converted at fourteen under the 
ministry of his eldest brother, the Rev. Mulford Day, 
he entered the New Jersey Conference at twenty-three, 
in 1851; but after laboring three years in the pastoral 
work he located, from partial failure of health. In 1855 
he was readmitted and resumed his chosen work, but 
after continuing it for nine years he was obliged to take 
a supernumerary relation, never to become effective 
again. He was a superior preacher, and with good 
health was well fitted to hold a conspicuous place in 
the ministry. His letter to the Conference of 1880 was 
deeply expressive and impressive, as a few sentences 
will show: "I write this letter in great feebleness, look- 
ing death in the face. ... O, what precious concep- 
tions of Christ, of his power to save, even to the utter- 
most, I am permitted to enjoy ! . . . His blood is upon 
my soul, washing, cleansing, and purifying it." After 
this he partially recovered, and lived a few years longer 
in possession of this deep and rich experience. Visit- 
ing him some weeks before his departure, the writer 
found him blessedly ready. 

Rev. Isaac Cross was born at White Plains, N. Y., 
November 22, 181 1, and became a plain, practical, 
earnest, and useful minister. Converted in Newark, N. 
J., when about twenty, and admitted to the Philadelphia 



228 Sunset Memories. 

Conference in 1835, his active ministry was confined 
within the bounds of what is now the Newark Con- 
ference. For twenty-seven years, ending with 1862, he 
" stood with his brethren in the thickest of the battle, 
having proved himself a faithful soldier and true com- 
rade." Removing to Washington, D. C, in 1862, he 
served under the American Missionary Society as 
missionary to the colored people, and also as chaplain 
to the Freedmen's Hospital, extending his labors to the 
Washington City Almshouse and the United States 
Insane Asylum. A true disciple was he of Him " who 
went about doing good." Many a more brilliant man 
will receive a far less brilliant crown. With a Christian 
experience fully ripe, his end was full of peace. 

Rev. George Winsor was born in England Novem- 
ber 18, 1813, but in his second year came to this country 
with his parents, who settled at Bound Brook, N. J. 
With pleasure I recall my visits to their goodly home 
fifty years ago. George was converted at twenty-four 
under the labors of another who bore the same Christian 
name, and who was also of English birth, the Rev. 
George Hitchens. Soon called to the work of the 
ministry, he entered the New Jersey Conference in 
1839, and rendered unbroken service in twenty charges 
during the next forty-six years. " He was a firm be- 
liever in the doctrines, discipline, and economy of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church and kept them for con- 
science' sake. . . . Every appointment was received as 
from the hand of Providence, and many in the great day 
will rise up and call him blessed. ... As the result of 
a long and faithful pastorate nineteen hundred souls 
were converted under his ministry." His punctuality 
was proverbial. With a true courtly bearing, he was 
exceedingly companionable. Some of his quaint say- 
ings will be readily recalled, such as, " Thomas, Richard, 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 229 

and Henry," and, " As our excellent Discipline says, 
1 All this I steadfastly believe,' " etc. During the last 
i wo years of his life he was called to endure great 
physical suffering, but he could cheerfully say, " It's all 
right, it's all right! There the weary be at rest." 

Rev. Thomas Thornton Campfield was born at 
Hagerstown, Md., May 23, 181 1, but early became a resi- 
dent of Freehold, X. J. After traveling several years as 
a supply he was admitted to the New Jersey Conference 
in 1844, being one of a class of eighteen. In 1881 his 
effective work of thirty-seven years in the Conference 
closed, and his name passed to the retired list. He 
was ardent in piety, heroic in spirit, social in disposi- 
tion, courteous in manner, and methodical in habit, 
with "a peculiar aptness for dates and figures. From 
these we learn that he traveled in his own conveyance 
as a minister, from March 2, 1839, to March 2, 1884, — 
forty-five years — about one hundred and twenty thou- 
sand miles; served twenty-two charges ; preached about 
seven thousand times ; made about twelve thousand 
pastoral calls ; received into the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, on probation and into full membership, about 
two thousand and fifty-seven persons ; baptized about 
one thousand ; attended about seven hundred funerals ; 
and married about six hundred couples." His class- 
mate, the Rev. Jacob P. Fort, spending a night at his 
house a few days before his departure, found him very 
happy and ready for his change. 

Rev. David Graves, born in Corinth, Vt., August 9, 
181 7, belonged to the class of 1842, was converted at 
fifteen in his father's barn, and was licensed to preach 
at Medford, N. J., as stated elsewhere. Having filled 
eighteen charges he took the supernumerary relation in 
1870, and engaged successfully in business in the city 
of Newark. The terse summary of his character by 



230 



Sunset Memories. 



Dr. Spellmeyer contained the following: " David Graves 
was a man of marked individuality. He had a sharp 
and rugged mind, clear conceptions of right, an inflexi- 
ble will, great fervency of spirit, untiring energy, and a 
tender heart. . . . His preaching was of the straightfor- 
ward, hortatory, practical, spiritual type. . . . He was 
an aggressive, hard-working minister, restless until he 
could bring something to pass. . . . Into the fight 
against the liquor traffic he threw all the forces of his 
being, and by public address, by private entreaty, by 
personal gifts, he was known everywhere as a stalwart 
champion for total prohibition. . . . When the fatal ill- 
ness came it found an easy victim. . . . When he had 
to stop he had to die. But no man was less afraid to 
die. . . . ' Gather my family about my bed,' said he, 
* and let my children hear me. I owe everything, every- 
thing to the Methodist Church. You know my mind on 
other subjects. I want you to know my mind on this. 
The Methodist Church has been everything to me/ . . . 
In his last hours on earth there was only triumph." 

Rev. Bromwell Andrew had a notable history. He 
was born in Talbot County, Md., June 12, 1798, and 
when twenty years old was converted at a camp meet- 
ing. Then followed a license to exhort issued by the 
Rev. Henry Boehrn and wonderful success in saving 
souls. He was licensed to preach under Rev. Lawrence 
Lawrenson, presiding elder, in 1822 ; in 1826 supplied 
a vacancy on Smyrna Circuit, Del. ; and at the next Con- 
ference stayed with the mother of Bishop Scott, her 
two sons, Levi and William, being then with her. In 
1829 he was admitted to the Philadelphia Conference, 
from which time till 1853 he filled seventeen laborious 
charges, and then became a supernumerary, removing 
soon after to Navesink, N. J., where he died. He "was 
an ' old-fashioned ' Methodist preacher. For a quarter 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 231 

of a century he was one of the most zealous, laborious, 
and successful of the earlier itinerants. . . . Under his 
ministry probably not less than four thousand souls were 
converted. . . . He estimated that he had taken into 
the Church one person for every dollar he had received 
as salary." His end was blessed. One of his sons, the 
Rev. Joseph F. Andrew, is an honored member of the 
Newark Conference. 

Rev. John Faull was born in Cornwall, England, 
December 6, 1820, was converted in early life, and li- 
censed to preach in 1843. In 1849 he came to New 
York, and soon after was employed to fill a vacancy at 
Franklin, N. J. Next spring he entered the New Jersey 
Conference, served eight charges in succession as pas- 
tor, and then became chaplain of the Twenty- seventh 
New Jersey Infantry. After nine months the regiment 
was mustered out, when he was immediately chosen for 
chaplain of the Thirty-third New Jersey Volunteers, 
and served as such till the close of the war. " He was 
a personal friend of Generals Grant, Sherman, Howard, 
Hooker, and other distinguished officers." After the 
war he occupied ten charges,' closing his work and life 
together during his second year at Sergeantsville, N. J. 
As a preacher he was ready, intelligent, instructive, im- 
pressive; in social life agreeable and entertaining; a 
good pastor and sincere friend. A few years before his 
death his only son, Willie, comely and skilled in his 
business, a young husband and father, had been buried 
at Asbury Church, Staten Island, the writer officiating; 
and thither the father's remains were borne to " rest in. 
hope " of a glorious resurrection. 

Rev. James Oliver Rogers, a name which always, 
awakened peculiar interest in the writer's mind when, in 
his boyhood, he used to read the annual appointments,, 
as also did the name of the Rev. Crook S. Vancleve — . 



232 Sunset Memories. 

the one by its middle " O.," the other by its initial 
" Crook," which was usually printed in full. But in 
after years when he became a fellow-laborer with them 
in the ministry he found that these names of special in- 
terest to boyish eyes and ears represented personalities 
of special excellence. The parentage of Brother Rog- 
ers has been given on a preceding page. By request of 
the family I prepared his Conference memoir, which 
supplies the following facts: From his admission to the 
Philadelphia Conference in 1836 till 1859 he filled four- 
teen charges, all in New Jersey; was transferred to the 
New York East Conference in i860, and two years later 
transferred back to the Newark, and filled eight 
charges, closing his active work with 1886, two years, 
1872 and 1873, having been passed as a supernumerary. 
His ministry was as remarkable for its success as for its 
length. One revival, at Elizabeth, gave five young men 
to the ministry. His career was marked by continuous 
revivals. The committee appointed by the Conference 
to visit him at his home in Hackensack, Drs. Porter, 
Dunn, Larew, and the writer, found him peacefully 
awaiting his change, which came two weeks afterward. 
He was born at Freehold, N. J., July 10, 1813, and ex- 
perienced conversion when about sixteen. 

Rev. James N. Keys was born in Bushkill, Ireland, 
February 12, 18 19, and converted when a child; studied 
at Didsbury Institute; was admitted to the Irish Con- 
ference in 1846, came to this country and joined Balti- 
more Conference in 1853; returned to Ireland, but after 
his father's death came back; entered Newark Confer- 
ence in 1859, filled eight charges, one of them (Decker- 
town) twice; and in the spring of 1881 took a supernu- 
merary relation. He was a cultured preacher, faultless 
in grammar and pronunciation, his sermons being " bib- 
lical, argumentative, clear, bold, and original." After 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 233 

his pastoral work ceased " he was often called upon to 
supply the vacant pulpits of various denominations in 
the community. ... It is the testimony of his beloved 
wife that ' he walked with God.' " His death from 
paralysis was very sudden. 

Rev. William G. Wiggins was born in Mount Hope, 
X. Y., February 24, 1821, converted at sixteen, and ad- 
mitted to the Newark Conference in 1844, having served 
the previous year as a supply. He filled thirteen charges, 
and in 1866 became a supernumerary; engaged in busi- 
ness, first at Newburg, N. Y., and afterward at Paterson, 
N. J., removing there in 1874. " His business grew to 
large proportions," and he " soon became one of the 
prominent merchants of that enterprising city." But he 
continued to work diligently for souls in frequent ser- 
mons and other labors, his generosity being broad and 
constant. He was a plain, honest, earnest, childlike, 
Christlike man and minister. In his last sickness he 
said to his presiding elder, u Brother Barnes, I am so 
glad that Father and I arranged matters long ago, and 
that no settlement is necessary now." 

Rev. James M. Tuttle was born in Caldwell, N. J., 
June 12, 1809; converted at twenty-four; a year later 
was licensed to preach, and soon after became a supply 
under Presiding Elder Force. In 1836 he entered the 
Philadelphia Conference. All his future appointments 
were confined to the State of New Jersey, in which he 
became a great power for good. His effective relation 
continued till 1878, twenty-five years having been spent 
as pastor in fifteen charges, seven as presiding elder on 
two districts, five as tract agent, three as agent for Pen- 
nington and Hackettstown seminaries, and two as sec- 
retary of United States Sanitary Commission. In i860 
he was elected to the General Conference, and for twenty- 
seven years he served as a manager of the parent Mis- 



234 Sunset Memories. 

sionary Society. He was wise in council and of large 
executive abilities. " His preaching was often in power; 
but his exhortations were remarkable. . . . His friends 
were numerous and he never lost a friend" — a man of 
imperturbable coolness, seldom greatly excited, and 
never angry. Above all, " he was a spiritual, conse- 
crated man;" "true, open, frank, noble, ingenuous." 
To all who knew him and to those who knew him not, 
it is enough to say that the father's excellences are per- 
petuated in the son, the Rev. Dr. A. H. Tuttle. 

Rev. James Henry Runyon left an excellent record 
of fidelity and success. " His ministry was one of ex- 
tensive usefulness. Revival work was his delight. . . . 
He was a bold champion of the truth. When it cost 
something to be something, he was willing to pay the 
price. . . . He was fearless in his attacks upon sin, and 
faltered not to attack it in high or low places. He was a 
good preacher, clear and practical, a faithful expounder 
of the word of life." His conversion at nineteen was 
followed in due time by license to exhort, by his em- 
ployment as a supply, and license to preach. In 1856 
he. joined the New Jersey Conference and served sixteen 
different charges, until 1887, when he fell at the post of 
duty after a brief illness. He was born at Liberty 
Corner, N. J., August 28, 1833. 

Rev. William Tunison — a name fragrant with pleas- 
ant memories. Converted at sixteen, in Green Street 
Church, Trenton, N. J., he became impressed that he 
ought to devote his life to the ministry. He entered 
Pennington Seminary to prepare for college, and thence 
went to Wesleyan University, where he was graduated 
in 1846. Next spring admitted to the New Jersey Con- 
ference, he spent forty-one active, earnest, and useful 
years in serving the Church, as pastor in seventeen 
charges, and a full term as presiding elder on the Jersey 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 235 

City District. He was emphatically a man of one work. 

The great thought, 

**'Tis all my business here below, 
To cry, Behold the Lamb! " 

gave shape to his whole being and life. Hence his well- 
prepared and well-delivered sermons were eminently 
evangelical and effective. " He filled some of the most 
prominent appointments, in all of which he was popular 
and useful. ... His labors were crowned with many 
blessed revivals." I visited him during his last sick- 
ness and found him with unclouded mind and cheerful 
spirit, sweetly trusting in God. At another time he said, 
"There is not a shadow around me; all is sunshine." 
He was born at Trenton, N. J., August 30, 1825. 

Rev. Cornelius Clark, Sr , born at Wheatsheaf, N. 
J., March 4, 181 1, was able to claim for an ancestor 
Abram Clark, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence. Though carefully trained in Dr. Mur- 
ray's Presbyterian church, Elizabeth, N. J., he sought 
and found conversion at a Methodist altar in his seven- 
teenth year, and united with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Removing to Newark soon after, he became 
a zealous and useful worker. He had " a vigorous 
mind. He was a great reader, a close thinker, and an 
acute reasoner. Possessed of strong logical powers, and 
endowed with a natural, rugged eloquence which, when 
inspired by the great themes of religion and temperance, 
glowed with a fervor and beauty that mastered his 
audience, we find him early recognized as a popular 
speaker on the temperance platform and a successful 
worker in revivals." Continuing a local preacher till 
1852, being then forty-one years of age, he entered the 
New Jersey Conference and served as pastor of eleven 
charges, intermitting one year, 1868, and finally ceasing 
from the pastoral work in 187 1. Preceding his death 



236 Sunset Memories. 

he suffered for over a year from paralysis, and then 
quietly passed away. 

Rev. Peter Davidson Day was born August 6, 1811, 
and grew up at New Providence, N. J. Converted in 
his eighteenth year, he became two years later a sup- 
ply on Newton Circuit, and in 1832 was admitted to 
the Philadelphia Conference, becoming successively a 
member of the New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 
His active pastoral service covered thirty-three years, 
in twenty charges. As a minister of Christ he " was 
true to the sacred trust committed to his care. He 
deeply loved the doctrines and discipline of our beloved 
Church. His spirit was fervent, labors abundant, his 
words well chosen. . . . And God gave him many seals 

to his ministry. . . . His last words were, 'I am going 

h» if 
ome. 

Rev. John Scarlett, born in Morris County, N. J., 
April 30, 1803, was not only a very remarkable man, but 
in many respects quite unique. A large volume might 
be written concerning him, but this is rendered needless 
by the three small and interesting volumes that came 
from his own ready pen while he yet lived: Converted 
Infidel, Almond, in verse, and Itinerant on Foot — all of 
them largely biographical of himself. The "Introduc- 
tion " to the second of these was written by me at his 
special request ; and not long before his death he placed 
in my hands for publication a manuscript with the title, 
Trite Methodism in its Spirit, Works, and Ways, written 
from the standpoint of his keen observation and long 
experience. Besides being warmly attached to his 
three Conference classmates, the Revs. Lewis R. Dunn, 
William P. Corbit, and Asaph C. Vandewater, with many 
more, there was one other whom he specially loved 
and delighted to commune with, the Rev. George 
Hughes, Editor of the Guide to Holiness. It was very 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 237 

fitting that he should speak at the funeral — a service 
to which, by tongue and pen, Brother Scarlett had also 
invited the writer; but his request was probably not 
known by those having charge of the arrangements. 
Powerfully converted in Newark when about thirty, 
John Scarlett entered the New Jersey Conference in 
1 841, and filled sixteen charges during the next thirty- 
two years; then he became a working supernumerary 
until, on the last day of his life, he could say, "I am 
nearing the portals — I shall be there to-night." To say 
the least, he was one of the sprightliest in mind and 
body, one of the aptest, deepest, purest, holiest, hap- 
piest, and most interesting men we have ever known. 

Rev. Joseph Robert Adams was born at Swedes- 
borough, N. J., February 12, 1824, and converted 
at nineteen in Philadelphia. He entered the New 
Jersey Conference in 185c. Then followed a ministry 
of twenty-nine years, in thirteen charges. In 1879 he 
became a supernumerary, settled at Metuchen, and en- 
gaged in mercantile business. Bishop Wilson, of the 
Reformed Episcopal Church, in his comprehensive 
memoir of him said, u His sermons were the result of 
patient thought, were thoroughly scriptural and practi- 
cal, remote from anything approaching irreverent specu- 
lation, and the topics were always edifying. . . . Many 
souls were led by him to Jesus." In his last illness he 
was often visited by the bishop, to whom he said three 
days before his death, "This will try the realities, the 
foundations — the wide foundations." But " not with 
fear was this spoken ; it was the calm outlook of a wait- 
ing soul." 

Rev. Crook Stevenson Vancleve was born at 
Woodsville, N. J., December 30, 18 14 ; converted in 
his eighteenth year at Pennington, N. J., near his birth- 
place ; was early licensed to exhort and then to preach; 
16 



238 Sunset Memories. 

entered the grammar school of Dickinson College, 
Carlisle, Pa., but after one term was urged by the Rev. 
Manning Force, presiding elder, to supply a vacancy on 
Newton, N. J., Circuit; in 1836 was admitted to the 
Philadelphia Conference and for fifty consecutive years 
pursued his work in the effective ranks, filling twenty- 
six pastoral charges and presiding over two districts, 
Morristown (twice) and Newton. His was a noble 
record of labor and success. He was a member of the 
General Conference in 1868 and of the Book Commit- 
tee during the next four years, as well as a reserve dele- 
gate to the General Conference of i860 and 1864. His 
preaching was of an excellent order, always thoughtful 
and earnest, and not unfrequently masterful and mighty. 
His sermons were well prepared at his study table and 
on his knees, then delivered with seriousness, direct- 
ness, and unction. He was a diligent, happy, success- 
ful pastor. In my deepest sorrow, as told elsewhere, 
my heart turned toward him, as one of our best friends, 
for help; and when, six and a half years later, the 
choice of his bereft family turned toward me as his de- 
sired biographer I felt that such service would be a 
true " labor of love." 

Rev. William Wesley Voorhees was converted in 
his eighteenth year at Freehold, N. J.; became an inti- 
mate associate with John Hanlon and Cornelius Clark, 
Jr., in church and Sunday school work; entered the 
New Jersey Conference in 1856; and filled nineteen 
charges in the next thirty-four years. His death oc- 
curred very suddenly at Liberty Falls, N. Y., whither he 
had gone with his wife for a restoration of broken 
health. When about to return home, having to ride 
two miles to the railway station, he reached for the 
driving reins, " when, lo, God's chariot swept down, and 
•without a sigh or a farewell he stepped in and was trans- 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 239 

lated to the company of the blood-washed." Happily, 
though the distance was great, his special friend of early 
and later years, the Rev. Cornelius Clark, could re- 
spond to a telegraphic summons to officiate at his 
funeral. In his excellent obituary of him he might well 
say. " Brother Voorhees made faithful use of his time 
and talents, and was a valuable and successful minister 
of the word." He was born in Upper Freehold, N. J., 
January 21, 1834. 

Rev. John S. Porter, D.D., was born in Snow Hill, 
Md., August 23, 1805, and soon after an early conver- 
sion felt it to be his duty to preach. Having been 
licensed and recommended to the Philadelphia Confer- 
ence, he was admitted on trial in 1829, and after four 
years in country circuit work he was appointed to old 
St. George's in Philadelphia, with Henry White, Robert 
Gerry, and Thomas McCarroll. Then followed twenty- 
one years in stations, nearly all of them in cities, and 
eighteen years in the presiding eldership, the whole of 
his effective service covering forty-four years. He was 
eight years connected with the Philadelphia Conference, 
twenty with the New Jersey Conference, and over thirty- 
three with the Newark, in the two latter of which he 
was reverently looked upon as a Nestor or a Solon in 
wisdom and counsel. He was a born leader, was six 
times a member of the General Conference and once a 
reserve delegate. Deeply interested in the cause of 
education, he served as a trustee of Dickinson College, 
Drew Theological Seminary, and Centenary Collegiate 
Institute, giving to each his time, labor, and means. 
Dr. Porter was a man of mark physically, intellectually, 
spiritually, socially, officially. He died as he lived, and 
saying this is saying much. His funeral was large and 
impressive. 
■ Rev. Amos Holcomb Belles was born in Hunterdon 



240 Sunset Memories. 

County, N. J., March 31, 1816 ; converted when a boy ; 
entered the New Jersey Conference in 1849 ; and 
served seventeen charges in the effective relation during 
the next forty years. " After his retirement from the 
more active ministry he preached in the churches in 
and about Newark as occasion required." He was "a 
man of large physical proportions and of a very vigorous 
manhood. His voice was remarkably powerful and 
resonant. . . . He was very modest ; . . . remarkably 
kind and even-tempered ; brave and uncomplaining in 
enduring the hardships of the itinerancy in those early 
days. His mind was like his body, rugged and strong." 
He was " an earnest, orthodox, Gospel preacher of the 
Wesleyan type," and had lc a rich personal religious ex- 
perience." In his last sickness of more than a year's 
continuance he suffered much, but amid all was enabled 
to say, " The Lord's will be done." 

Rev. Benjamin Day was the eldest but one of the 
notable Day brothers of New Providence, N. J., who 
entered the ministry. Born January 31, 1807 ; was 
converted at sixteen ; joined the Philadelphia Confer- 
ence in 1832, one year before his eldest brother, Mul- 
ford, and in the same year with his brother Peter D.; 
served ten charges the next fourteen years ; was super- 
numerary the following six years ; resumed pastoral 
work and served two charges two years each, one of 
them for the second time ; was made presiding elder of 
Newton District and served four years, then of Paterson 
(Jersey City) District and served four years, becoming 
supernumerary in 1864 and so continuing. In 1869 he 
left New Jersey and went to Ann Arbor, Mich., where 
he became associated with the First Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and where at his funeral Dr. Coburn spoke of 
his "pure, transparent character," and the official board 
testified of him as "one who has long served the church 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 241 

of Ann Arbor and the cause of Christianity with singu- 
lar faithfulness." As another wrote, "It was a privilege 
to know him, and his friendship was a benediction." 
He led the Newark Conference delegation to the General 
Conference of i860. 

Rev. Charles Maybury was born of Protestant 
parents in Ireland March 4, 1854, and when about 
twenty came to this country ; was converted in a re- 
vival at Catskill, N. Y., and soon felt called to the work 
of the ministry ; entered and passed through Claverack 
Institute; in 1884 was graduated at Drew Theological 
Seminary ; and the same spring admitted to the Newark 
Conference. His brief ministry covered but eight years 
and was given to three charges, Campgaw, South 
Market Street, Newark, and Westtown and Unionville, 
serving in each with marked success. After a month's 
sickness, as the end approached, he said to his dear 
wife, "Take our Charlie [seven years old] to prayer 
morning, noon, and night; teach him to love God, so 
that he may be a blessing to society if he should be 
spared/' With excellent equipment for his work, 
Brother Maybury was a young minister of unusual 
promise. 

Rev. Ambrose Stewart Compton was born August 
23, 1823, and " born again," in Newark, N. J., where for 
several years he labored usefully as a local preacher, and 
where he entered New Jersey Conference at its session 
in Broad Street (St. Paul's) Church in 1856, having 
served as a supply the previous year. Then followed 
eleven successive pastorates, extending over twenty-two 
years. In 1878 he became a supernumerary, but next 
year resumed the pastoral work and labored five years 
in two other charges, taking a change of relation again 
in 1884, his health having become impaired through the 
protracted sufferings of his wife in their last charge. A 



242 Sunset Memories. 

few months later she passed through the gates, "not 
ajar, but wide open," as she had recently said. After 
this he resided with his daughter, Mrs. Daniel W. Disos- 
way, whose home from 1885 was at Ocean Grove, where 
Brother Compton found a very congenial atmosphere. 
Here the shock occasioned by the sudden death of his 
estimable son-in-law probably hastened his own death, 
about a year later. " His sick room was a Bethel." By 
the writer his company and his home were often found 
happy and helpful. 

Rev. John B. Mathis was a man whose great modesty 
was more than equaled by his real excellence. With a 
plain education, a plain personal appearance, plain man- 
ners in the pulpit as among the people, and but little 
known outside of his own charges, he was yet one of the 
most acceptable, beloved, and useful ministers among 
us. " He was so well beloved in all the region where he 
labored that frequently he was by invitation of the 
church stationed in adjoining charges, and twice filled a 
second pastorate. Thus he spent fifteen years of his 
successful ministry at Walpack Center, Hainesburg, and 
Hainesville, contiguous charges." Let me add that he 
was born October 14, 18 14, at Bass River (now New 
Gretna), Burlington County, N. J., on " the shore " — a 
region which, with its pines and sand, has sent forth not 
a few ministers of great influence and usefulness, such 
as the Atwood brothers, Anthony and Joseph, Noah 
Edwards, Alphonso A. Willetts, Charles S. Downs, 
Samuel Parker, Charles Fletcher Downs, the Adams 
brothers, Daniel L. and John E., Josephus Leander 
Sooy, Charles H. McAnney, and, going back several 
generations, John Collins and Learner Blackman, both 
of whom became distinguished members of the Western 
Conference. Brother Mathis was converted at nineteen, 
and entered the New Jersey Conference in 1852, filled 






New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 243 

fourteen charges in thirty-two years, and passed to the 
retired list in 1885. 

Rev. Isaac Wesley Cole was born at Arlington, N. 
J., November 4, 1820, was converted at eighteen, and 
united with the Church at Belleville, N. J. In 1852 he 
entered the New Jersey Conference, having previously 
served as a supply. The next year he went as a mis- 
sionary to California, remaining about three years and 
then returning by reason of his own and his wife's im- 
paired health. Resuming work at home in 1857, he 
filled fifteen charges, and in 1884 took a supernumerary 
relation. " He was a successful workman in God's har- 
vest field. In every appointment he paid off indebted- 
ness, 'improved church property, erected new buildings, 
and won souls." "His dying testimony was clear." 
Besides leaving behind him a good name, he generously 
deeded to the trustees of the Centenary Fund and 
Preachers' Aid Society of the Newark Conference his 
pleasant home at Woodside, Newark, to be used by his 
devoted wife until she, too, shall be translated to the 
" house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 

Rev. John Newton Crane began his ministry at 
twenty-two, having been converted six years before; was 
admitted to the Philadelphia Conference in 1833, after 
serving as a supply; spent the next thirty-five years in 
filling twenty-two pastoral charges; was supernumerary 
in 1868-70 ; became effective in 1871, and, having served 
a year as pastor at Milburn, became chaplain of the 
Minard Home at Morristown. " In revival work he had 
great success, by the grace of God winning many souls 
for Christ." During the last fifteen years of his life he re- 
sided in Newark, N. J., and was a member of the Roseville 
Quarterly Conference. " He frequently assisted the 
preachers in charge, and always with acceptance to the 
congregation. He was held in high esteem by the com- 



244 Sunset Memories. 

m unity in which he dwelt. . . . His was a worthy life 
and a happy death." He was born at West Bloomfield 
(now Montclair), N. J., December 26, 1810. 

Rev. Thomas Hewlings Stockton came to the 
Newark Conference by transfer in 1878 from the New 
Jersey Conference, of which he had been a member for 
seven years. His father was the well-known Thomas 
H. Stockton, D.D., of the Methodist Protestant Church, 
" an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures," and 
the son inherited no small measure of the father's preach- 
ing ability. Daring five years he filled two pastorates 
in our Conference work, and was then appointed to 
Buenos Ayres, South America, where his ministry proved 
a very successful one. In the latter part of the year 
1 89 1 he came to the United States for rest and relief. 
" His health improved and he returned to his work, but it 
seems his return was premature, for he died of nervous 
exhaustion July 29, 1892." He was born in Philadel- 
phia May 26, 1839. 

Rev. Thomas Hollingshead Smith was a native of 
England; born January 15, 1819; was converted when 
very young, and preached his first sermon when he was 
but sixteen, thenceforward laboring as a local preacher 
under the circuit plan. He came to New York in 1848, 
and one year later was called to supply the church at 
Orange, N. J., its pastor, the Rev. Jonathan T. Crane, 
having been elected principal of Pennington Seminary. 
In 1850 he entered the New Jersey Conference and was 
appointed to the same church, including which. he filled 
seventeen charges, presided over two districts, was super- 
numerary one year (1890), then made effective and ap- 
pointed corresponding secretary of the Conference Tract 
Society in 1891 and 1892. Brother Smith was a man of 
sterling integrity, a strong preacher, a true friend, a lov- 
ing husband and father. Thrice at different times we 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 245 

roomed together during Conference week, and always 
found our fellowship, as I believe, mutually pleasant and 
profitable. The last occasion of this kind was during 
the Conference at Plainfield in 1889, at the home of the 
Rev. Dr. David J. Yerkes, the distinguished pastor of the 
First Baptist Church. 

Rev. Ralph Stover Arndt was born near Easton, Pa., 
June 4, 1826, his parents removing fivQ years later to War- 
ren County, N. J. Reared in a home of deep piety, he 
was converted at nineteen and soon after felt called to the 
ministry; became a student at Pennington Seminary; in 
1848 served as a supply in his home county; a year later 
entered the New Jersey Conference and continued his 
ministry till 1890, filling twenty-one pastoral charges and 
one term as presiding elder of the Elizabeth District. 
"As a preacher he was held in high esteem. His sermons 
were well prepared, his style chaste, his delivery quiet, 
yet earnest and impressive. ... In temperament he was 
mild and in manner very agreeable. . . . Many of us 
will recall his cheerful greeting in his home and else- 
where, and the sunshine that he diffused all around him. 
. . . His domestic life was exceedingly beautiful. ,, The 
illness of nearly two years preceding his death was 
borne with devout patience and cheerfulness. The 
writer had excellent opportunity for knowing him, hav- 
ing been his presiding elder and having had him in turn 
as such; and "to know him was to love him." 

Rev. Alexander Lawrence Brice, D.D., " was a 
truly great man." So we remarked to Dr. Daniel R. Low- 
rie on the day of the funeral, and immediately justified 
the statement by giving substantially the following rea- 
son : For one with his small beginnings of opportunity, 
education, and social influence, without patronage or 
favoritism, constitutionally timid and shrinking, to have 
attained by dint of honest, conscientious, steady devo' 



246 Sunset Memories. 

tion to God and the work of the Church, and for so 
many years maintained the high position of honor and 
influence accorded to him, then to have died in a ripe 
age with this honor and influence undiminished — here- 
in is conclusive proof that he must have been essen- 
tially a great man. During twenty-five years "he was 
pastor of thirteen different churches, seven of them be- 
ing in our principal cities, and for twenty years he was 
a presiding elder." As a preacher he was "earnest, 
dignified, instructive." Three times he was a member 
of the General Conference and three times a reserve 
delegate; sixteen consecutive years a member of the 
Missionary Board; from its beginning a trustee and the 
treasurer of the Centenary Fund and Preachers' Aid 
Society; during all its history a trustee of the Confer- 
ence collegiate institute ; and for many years a trustee of 
the camp meeting association at Mount Tabor. Dr. Brice 
was a well-balanced man in whom there centered a rare 
combination of the best qualities — the perfect gentle- 
man, the consistent Christian, the wise counselor, the 
impartial arbiter, the skillful financier, the modest but 
self-reliant leader, the ready helper, the generous giver, 
the sincere, faithful friend, the honest, unselfish, pains- 
taking, successful preacher, pastor, and presiding elder. 
He was born in Suffield, Conn., October 24, 1822, en- 
tered the New Jersey Conference, after a year's supply- 
ing, in 1847, an d died in peace after a brief illness. His 
funeral was remarkable for the number of ministers — 
more than a hundred — in attendance. " I feel lonely," 
was the low, sad murmur of many besides the writer as 
we saw him borne away so soon after the quick depar- 
tures of Smith and Arndt — the strong "threefold cord " 
suddenly broken! 

Rev. Albert Halsey Brown was born in Boston, 
Mass., April 30, 1829; converted at a camp meeting 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 247 

when ten years old ; at suitable age entered Wesleyan 
University, and afterward Concord Biblical Institute; 
was admitted to the New Jersey Conference in 1855 ; 
spent the next eighteen years in filling eleven charges; 
was a supernumerary two years, and, then becoming 
effective, served three more years as pastor in three 
charges. This ended his pastoral work, but not his ac- 
tivity, for he could not be inactive. " His zeal for the 
truth well-nigh consumed him. All his life with a frail 
body, he wrought for God as if he were a giant with 
sword and battle-ax. " In thought and conviction he 
was a quarter century in advance of his generation. The 
''planning, building, furnishing, and managing" of the 
"Good Will Institute," in Roseville, Newark, "was the 
closing and crowning work of his life." His last week 
on earth was one of extraordinary suffering; yet amid 
it all he could say, " Xot my will, Father, but thine be 
done." 

Rev. Jacob P. Fort, born at Pemberton, X. J., Feb- 
ruary 20, 1S1S, was converted at sixteen under the Rev. 
Henry Boehm and, feeling called to the ministry, sought 
by diligent study to prepare himself for it. He was one 
of the notable class admitted to the New Jersey Confer- 
ence in 1S44, and "for forty-five years, without a rest 
or break in his work," he continued " to receive and fill, 
with remarkable diligence, his appointments," twenty- 
three in number. " He looked closely after the work as- 
signed him; not only the temporal, but the spiritual, in- 
terests of the church prospered in his hands. Many gra- 
cious revivals with their lasting fruits survive him." When 
compelled in 1889 to take a supernumerary relation, "he 
manfully accepted the inevitable and was the same genial, 
loving Christian gentleman, still seeking to do what he 
could to advance the Redeemer's kingdom." He fixed 
his home in Newark, where he died suddenly amid many 



248 Sunset Memories. 

regrets and tears. He was a man of clear head, warm 
heart, philanthropic spirit, and godly life. 

Rev. Josiah Flint Canfield had a notable lineage, 
his mother's father having been the Rev. James Cald- 
well, of Revolutionary renown, pastor of the old First 
Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, N. J. Born at Mor- 
ris Plains, N. J., March 22, 1808, he was converted at 
twenty in the great revival of 1828 at Morristown, un- 
der the Rev. Anthony Atwood, and soon felt called to 
the ministry. In 1830 he entered the Philadelphia 
Conference with such men as John L. Lenhart, Caleb 
A. Lippincott, and Edmund S. Janes (afterward bishop), 
and filled twenty pastoral charges during the next twenty- 
five years, all in the State of New Jersey. In 1855 his name 
was placed on the retired list, where it continued during 
the balance of his life, nearly forty years. Most of these 
years were passed in Illinois; but in 1888 he returned 
to his native State and settled at Ocean City. When 
eighty-one he preached twice on Sunday and rode eight- 
een miles. His favorite theme was entire sanctification. 
His grandson wrote that he loved his old Greek Testa- 
ment very much and was very fond of the beautiful, 
spending much time in the culture of flowers. During 
his last month of life he was a great sufferer, but never 
failed to trust in God. 

Rev. Thomas H. Jacobus was born at Pine Brook, 
N. J., November 20, 1834, and in early youth became a 
member of the old Clinton Street Church of Newark in 
her palmy days. " Naturally studious, his new environ- 
ments inspired him with new impulses toward learning. 
Intensely spiritual, he loved the house of God and the 
place of prayer." In 1866 I found him a local preacher 
at Bloomingdale, N. J., in charge of the public school 
at that place; and, learning from him a desire to enter 
the itinerant work, arrangements were made with him to 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 249 

supply Ladentown charge the next year. At the Con- 
ference of 1868 he was elected and ordained a deacon 
under the rule for local preachers, being also admitted 
on trial, and returned to the same charge, including 
which he filled fourteen appointments during the next 
twenty-seven years. He had a laudable ambition for 
goodness, greatness, and success of the best type. His 
last sickness was of short duration. Anticipating a 
question from his anxious wife concerning his peace 
with God, he said, " That is all settled; everything is all 
right." 

Rev. Martin Herr was born in Lancaster County, 
Pa., May 6, 1820, and when eight years old found the 
11 pearl of great price," but did not unite with the 
Church till some years later. At length he was licensed 
to preach and, leaving his native State, was admitted to 
the Xew Jersey Conference in 1844. Then followed 
sixteen pastorates, closing with 187 1. He "then took a 
supernumerary relation and purchased a property at 
White House, consisting of a small farm and a country 
store. Here he spent the last twenty-five [twenty-four] 
years of his life in labors incident to his business, fre- 
quently preaching for the pastors in that vicinity. . . . 
His preaching ability was regarded as above the ordi- 
nary. . . . He was an excellent administrator and a 
good pastor." We recall with pleasure our quarterly 
visits to his charge and his home at Hackensack in 1866, 
and well remember a centennial service, held under his 
wise planning and direction, in the interest of the great 
Centennial of American Methodism. His last sickness 
was very severe and trying, but his faith proved tri- 
umphant. 

Rev. William Day was born in Larkfield, England, 
November 16, 1827, and converted on his seventeenth 
birthday. He received his first love feast ticket from 



250 Sunset Memories. 

the Rev. Benjamin Clough, who said, " There, William, 
take that, and carry it up to the gate of heaven with 
you." He soon became an exhorter and then a local 
preacher, doing excellent service as such in the circuit 
work. Having entered the Richmond Theological In- 
stitute, he was compelled by failure of health to leave 
before finishing his course. He came to the United 
States in March,' 1850; was admitted to the New Jersey 
Conference in April, 185 1; and served as pastor of 
twenty-one charges, mostly city stations, until 1895, 
when he was suddenly called from labor to reward. He 
was a superior preacher, a loving, sympathetic pastor, 
an affectionate friend, and always successful in his 
work. In his home life he was overgenerous. At the 
close of a Tract Board meeting in New York, as we 
talked together, he spoke tenderly of his personal friend- 
ship and made feeling reference to the death of several 
brethren of about his own age in the Conference, pro- 
ducing in his heart a sad sense of loneliness. His own 
death soon after was a great surprise and sorrow. 

Rev. Charles Howland Bassett was born at Great 
Hill, Conn., December 10, 1864, and " gave his heart to 
the Lord when he was but eleven years of age." He 
was graduated from Cazenovia Seminary in 1886, from 
Syracuse University in 1890, and from Drew Theolog- 
ical Seminary in 1895. He joined the Northern New 
York Conference in 1890, having successfully served as 
a supply the previous year. In 1894 he was transferred 
to the Newark Conference and appointed to Branchville, 
N. J., but in June, 1895, was made assistant pastor of 
Market Street Church in Paterson, where after a few 
weeks of faithful service he was attacked with a fatal 
typhoid fever. His brief career was marked by great 
toils and great successes. " To save men from sin was 
his great ambition. . . .God always honors a holy pas- 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 251 

sion for saving souls, and Brother Bassett did not go to 
meet the Redeemer empty-handed." 

Rev. Charles Ridgeway Snyder was born at Alla- 
muchy, N. J., February 3, 1837, and converted when 
fourteen under the ministry of Dr. John S. Porter, whose 
son-in-law he became on March 3, 1863. He had a 
noteworthy parentage. His father belonged to a large, 
intelligent, and influential family, while his middle name, 
Ridgeway, pointed to the family name of his mother, a 
name which early came to Paterson, N. J., and stood 
for culture and manifold excellences. That mother at- 
tained a ripe old age, with a rich Christian experience, 
and died but a few years ago full of honors. The name 
"Aunt Sarah" was pleasantly familiar. Charles was 
educated at Pennington Seminary, Wesleyan University, 
and Dickinson College; entered the Newark Conference 
in 1 86 1 ; served five pastoral charges until 1867, when 
he became supernumerary and removed to Minnesota, 
where he made himself very useful. Returning after 
several years' absence, he became effective in 1882 and 
occupied six charges, becoming supernumerary again in 
1895. Then followed months of patient suffering till 
death ensued. Here was a remarkable man in many 
ways, but in none so much as in his wonderful Christian 
experiences, as reported by the Rev. L. C. Muller. He 
described himself as " a modern Tantalus " up to June, 
1895. " He was continually having his expectations 
excited, to suffer disappointment. . . . Now he was no 
longer Tantalus; he was permitted to drink of the allur- 
ing cup and was content. He found himself as never 
before satisfied." His testimony was: "All my concep- 
tions of the possibilities of the Christian life have been 
surpassed. God has surprised me as a sufficiency, stay, 
and joy. Nobody need sympathize with me in connec- 
tion with this sickness," At another time he said; ," I 



252 Sunset Memories. 

had not thought it possible for one to have such abso- 
lute assurance for reaching heaven. I have such cer- 
tainty there seems no room for failure." What a sub- 
lime illustration were these experiences of that inspired 
declaration, " Able to do exceeding abundantly above 
all that we ask or think! ' Are not such experiences 
for each of us ? The funeral services were held at the 
residence of his well-known brother, Mr. William V. 
Snyder, of Newark, N. J. 

Rev. Nelson Alexander Macnichol was born in 
Philadelphia, Pa., August 2, 185 1, and converted when 
about seventeen. He came to the Newark Conference 
in 1890 by transfer from the New Jersey, where for 
fourteen years he had been esteemed " very highly in 
love " for his work's sake, as also for his personal quali- 
ties. With good success he served a full term of five 
years at the Halsey Street Church, Newark, and was 
then appointed to Market Street Church, Paterson. 
Once the writer heard him preach an extraordinary ser- 
mon on an ordinary occasion to a good, but not full, con- 
gregation. I said, " Such a sermon ought to have been 
heard by thousands ; " and I added, " If Talmage can 
crowd his Brooklyn Tabernacle every Sunday, Mac- 
nichol ought as often to fill every sitting in Halsey 
Street Church, below and above. " Well might his 
biographer say, " He had rare gifts of textual illumina- 
tion. By a quick emphasis, a studied pause, or a quaint 
simile he would make lasting impressions. His power 
of illustration was rich, varied, and striking." Was his 
death untimely ? So it seems to human vision — like 
Hudson's and Batchelder's, McKeever's and Hanlon's. 
Would rest or lighter work have saved them longer to 
the Church ? Who knoweth ? " The secret things be- 
long unto the Lord our God." 

Rev. Cyrenius Anderson Wombough was born at 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 253 

Ringoes, N. J., May 17, 1825, began his Christian life 
in early youth, entered the New Jersey Conference in 
1854, and spent the next thirty years in serving sixteen 
pastoral charges. In 1885 his relation was changed from 
effective to supernumerary. Afterward death visited his 
home in the removal of his cherished wife, and was 
followed by a personal attack of paralysis which made 
articulation difficult. But amid all he was peaceful, 
resigned, and happy in the conscious presence of his 
covenant-keeping God and under the tender ministries 
of his children. A final blow came at length, rendering 
speech impossible; but by unmistakable signs he still 
responded to every mention of the loved name of Jesus. 
In 1856 and 1857 we were stationed near each other on 
Staten Island and went together to New York as mem- 
bers of Dr. Strong's class in the Greek and Hebrew. 
Brother Wombough was a thoroughly conscientious 
Christian, a good preacher, a faithful pastor, whose life 
and character always made for righteousness. 

Rev. Henry Littz was born in Sandyston, N. J., 
September 25, 1824, experienced conversion when about 
eighteen, soon after felt called to preach, and was li- 
censed, first as an exhorter, and later as a local preacher, 
in which relation he " supplied a number of charges 
under the elder." He was admitted to the Newark Con- 
ference in i860, and during the ensuing thirty-four 
years served as pastor of thirteen charges. " His love 
for preaching was invincible. One of the saddest days 
of his life was when, two years ago, he was advised to 
give up preaching and retire from the active work. . . . 
As a preacher he possessed rare gifts. He had native 
eloquence. His sermons were biblical and interesting. 
. . . He was a man of power in prayer. ... He grew 
old sweetly and beautifully." Having gone to visit his 
son at Susquehanna, N. Y., lie was taken ill with pneu- 
17 



254 Sunset Memories. 

monia a few days after preaching on Sunday evening, 
January 19; but he was submissive to the will of God 
and died in peace. The writer recalls with pleasure the 
warm hospitality of himself and his estimable wife in 
more than one of their charges. 

Rev. Lewis Goodwin Griffith was born at Rock 
Hill, Pa., October 9, 1863, and converted at nineteen 
in Philadelphia. He entered Dickinson College in 1885, 
and was graduated from Drew Theological Seminary in 
1 891, having for two years served as a supply at Parsip- 
pany. He was admitted to the Newark Conference the 
same spring and had filled two charges when, during 
1893, he was stricken down with typhoid fever, which re- 
sulted in a fatal consumption. He was u a true Chris- 
tian minister " and faithful in his work. His death oc- 
curred at Camden, N. J., where appropriate funeral 
services were conducted by ministers of the New Jersey 
Conference. 

Rev. John Ogden Winner was born in Sussex 
County, N. J., May 29, 1826. His father was the Rev. 
Isaac Winner, D.D., one of the heroes of early New 
Jersey Methodism. He was a man of great power in 
the pulpit and in the arena of Conference debate. The 
writer well remembers him as his presiding elder and in 
other relations. His now departed son possessed many 
of the father's noble qualities, his early educational ad- 
vantages being greatly superior. His preparatory course 
at Pennington Seminary was followed by his graduation 
at Dickinson College in 1848, he having, in April of the 
same year, been admitted on trial in the New Jersey 
Conference. From this time he filled ten pastoral 
charges, until 1865, when he became supernumerary, 
resuming active pastoral work in 1873 and continuing 
the same until April, 1895, less than a year before his 
death. He was an instructive and edifying preacher, 



New Jersey and Newark Conferences. 255 

a faithful pastor, a sincere friend, and stood at the 
head of a family of notable distinction and worth. 
His only son, the Rev. John O. Winner, of the Newark 
Conference, worthily represents his ascended father. 
My recollections of Brother Winner's ardent personal 
friendship are among the most precious. 

Ah, how the Conference death roll is swelling! Dur- 
ing thirty-eight fleeting years it has grown to ninety-six. 
It began with Ichabod — " where is the glory ? " — and now 
closes at date with John — " the gift or grace of God," — 
the glory-crowned seer of Patmos ! Who'll be the next? 
Let every thoughtful reader ask, " Lord, is it I ? " De- 
lightful is the thought that as the death roll increases the 
number of witnesses to conquest over death correspond- 
ingly enlarges. "Our preachers die well " is as true to- 
day as when John Wesley wrote it: 

" Our glorious Leader claims our praise 

For his own pattern given ; 
While the long cloud of witnesses 

Show the same path to heaven." 



PART V. 

SUPERNUMERARY EXPERIENCES AND 
REVIEW SUPPLEMENTAL. 



Supernumerary Experiences. 259 



PART V. 

Supernumerary Experiences and Review Supple- 

mentaL 

\\ TITH me the transition from the effective to the 
* * supernumerary relation was easy and even grate- 
ful, producing no shock and causing no regrets; first, 
because I had served my long day of fifty active years 
in the Conference; and, secondly, because it allowed me 
quietly to vacate a place in the pastoral work for some 
one who could better occupy it. Mingled with this feel- 
ing, however, was one of humiliation and grief in the 
thought of becoming a claimant on the funds of the 
Conference, aside from which my happiness would have 
seemed complete. Happy, indeed, must those be who 
are able to close a lengthened active ministry without 
dependence upon such aid ! I found myself taking 
kindly to the pew as a listener, instead of occupying the 
pulpit as a preacher, never chafing or fretting under this 
new providential arrangement ; in fact, it has proved to 
be quite a luxury to sit under the ministry of our suc- 
cessive pastors, Dr. James I. Boswell, the Rev. Frank 
S. Cookman, and the Rev. Edwin N. Crasto. 

Thus set free from " all time and toil and care " in 
the pastoral service, what could I find to occupy my 
attention and save my life from a dull and cheerless 
monotony ? Not more natural is the question than the 
answer to it is easy. Had I from boyhood been a preach- 
er and pastor simply — nothing more — an irksome monot- 
ony would have been inevitable ; but within proper limits 
I had also been " a tiller of the ground " and a mechanic, 



260 Sunset Memories. 

without, however, remitting close habits of study. Hence 
on removing in the spring of 1892 to the native home of 
my wife at East Madison, N. J., connected with which 
was a farm with a garden, I had full opportunity for the 
use of rake and fork and hoe, the privilege thus afforded 
being cheerfully embraced as strength and other duties 
would permit. Moreover, for some twenty years I had 
been the owner of a full chest of carpenters tools, the 
impress of which had been left on many a parsonage, 
and the convenience of which was now realized more 
than ever in repairing breaches and making sundry im- 
provements. Still further, my large library continued to 
invite attention, which with unabated interest continued 
to be given to it in the preparation of new sermons and 
writing for the press. Though hundreds of old sermons 
had been carefully preserved in stock, I found far greater 
pleasure in mapping out new discourses than using old 
ones to meet occasional or frequent calls to preach. 

After two years of happy life at the quiet homestead 
a sorrowful change occurred in the death of Mr. Tunis, 
the kind, loving father ; then followed the settlement 
of the estate under the executorship of Henry W. Tu- 
nis, the youngest son, and the writer. Within this year 
the property was sold, obliging us to seek another home, 
which we found in the borough of Madison, where our 
nearness to the post office, stores, and trains, as also to 
the Methodist Church and Drew Theological Seminary, 
has proved a special convenience. On arranging the 
study in our new home it was found a great accommo- 
dation to send away, as a small gift to the Drew library, 
nearly a hundred volumes, large and small, together 
with several boxes of magazines, reports, Conference 
Minutes, pamphlets, etc., which were accepted through 
the courtesy of the Rev. Samuel G. Ayres, assistant li- 
brarian. 



Supernumerary Experiences. 261 

The long cherished friendship of Dr. Buttz, the ac- 
complished president, with the enjoyable acquaintance 
of the other distinguished members of the faculty, ren- 
ders our convenience to the seminary a matter of very 
great interest, affording as it does the delightful privi- 
lege of attending the lectures given by eminent special- 
ists and others before the students, as also the pleasure 
of hearing the Wednesday morning sermon by some 
member of the graduating class. Among the former I 
mention Dr. C. H. Payne, Joseph Cook, President B. P. 
Raymond, Professor J. Rendel Harris, Dr. T. B. Neely, 
Professor Caspar Rene Gregory, Dr. M. D. Buell, Dr. 
J. C. Hartzell, and Dr. J. M. Buckley. Others, as Dr. 
George K. Morris and Dr. A. B. Leonard, I unfortu- 
nately failed to hear. To fitly characterize Dr. Buck- 
ley's course of lectures on " Extemporaneous Speaking " 
would require several emphatic adjectives, with each 
one underscored at that. I had repeatedly heard some 
veteran minister express a wish to live his life over, but 
I had never shared that feeling or anything approaching 
it ; now, however, under the instruction and inspiration 
of these lectures, with such a living example before me, 
I was brought to the point of soliloquizing thus: If it 
were possible for me to begin my ministry again, with 
my present knowledge and experience charged with the 
fresh illumination and stimulus of these forceful utter- 
ances, there seems no room for doubt that by the crown- 
ing help of God's Spirit I could preach far more effi- 
ciently and usefully than ever in the past. 

To have personally known each president of the sem- 
inary from its beginning till now — McClintock, Foster, 
Hurst, Buttz — and each professor during the same pe- 
riod — Nadal, Miley, Strong, Burr, Crooks, Upham, Kid- 
der, Sitterly, Rogers, Cramer, Bowman — is felt to have 
been and still to be no insignificant honor. With this 



262 Sunset Memories. 

has come the added pleasure of a personal acquaintance 
with Dr. George G. Saxe and Dr. Homer Eaton as 
neighbors and fellow-worshipers in the same church. 
Yet another pleasure is found in the friendship of the 
venerable Dr. Robert Aikman, pastor emeritus of the 
Presbyterian Church. 

With grateful satisfaction we recall the years of our 
residence at East Madison, where, in the old historic, 
but well-kept, schoolhouse the Sunday evening preach- 
ing service was usually conducted by some one of the stu- 
dents, and where the Tuesday night prayer meetings, led 
alternately by Messrs. Aaron P. Condit and David Y. 
Hedges, were often delightfully full of interest and 
profit. Seldom is sweeter or more inspiring music any- 
where heard than was heard there from choir and con- 
gregation at the Sunday evening service. Among our 
neighbors we were happy in having many of the kindest 
and best. 

As busy thought sweeps over the past I am constrained 
to cry out, " What shall I render unto the Lord for all 
his benefits toward me? " Among these benefits I must 
reckon a personal knowledge of all the bishops of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church from its beginning, except- 
ing the first five, with Bishop Emory, whose sudden 
death occurred in less than four years after his election, 
and when I was but twelve years old. Including the 
missionary bishops Taylor and Thoburn, here are forty 
honored men the panorama of whose forms and faces 
has been passing before me in the various successive 
stages of my life, from its teens till the opening of its 
eighth decade and beyond. Between 1842 and 1892 
twenty-five of these presided over the New Jersey and 
Newark Conferences, from whom I received my fifty 
annual appointments. Associated with them during the 
same period were more than two hundred presiding 



Supernumerary Experiences. 263 

elders, often the same men, sitting each year with one 
of the bishops in groups of four or five to assist him in 
fixing the appointments. 

And now, after an observation and experience of 
more than half a century as to the working of our 
Church polity, if I should say that among all these of- 
ficials I have found but one selfish bishop, with one 
thoughtless presiding elder, another insincere, and a 
third unkind, I feel that I should be paying a compli- 
ment to our episcopacy, presiding eldership, and itiner- 
ant system far more unqualified than could justly be 
paid to any other ecclesiastical system under the sun. 

In the Methodist Quarterly Review for April, 1864, 
appeared an article from my pen on " Our Lord's Prayer 
in the Garden," setting forth a new interpretation which 
is becoming gradually accepted as the correct view. 
After its publication I found the same view suggested in 
McClintock & Strong's Cyclopaedia. At this writing an 
article with the title of " Some Thoughts on the Last 
Things " is in the hands of the present editor, Dr. Kel- 
ley, for publication. 

During several years, by request of the Rev. George 
Hughes, Editor of the Guide to Holiness, I furnished the 
u Berean Holiness Lesson Leaves," assisted in prepar- 
ing his book, The Beloved Physician^ revised Four 
Pearls, and have more recently been serving as one of 
the corresponding editors of the Guide. 

Sometimes my pen productions have been wrongly 
credited, and sometimes not credited at all. In 1891 I 
wrote three or four serial articles for the Christian 
Standard, of Philadelphia, and soon after saw an extract 
from one of them in the Ocean Grove Record, with the 
heading, " Sinless Human Nature of Christ," credited 
to " Dr. Whedon, in Northern Christian Advocate." The 
mistake was as complimentary to me as it was innocent 



264 Sunset Memories. 

on the part of Dr. Wallace, editor of the Record. In 
1887 the Board of Education published in its program 
for Children's Day a hymn which I had written a few 
years before for The Christian Advocate^ where it was 
published with my name prefixed ; but in the program, 
though every other hymn was fully credited to its au- 
thor, my name was wholly omitted. 

If occasional humiliating slights have come to me they 
have been far more than counterbalanced by the un- 
sought honors enjoyed, as election to the General Con- 
ference; service for eight years in the presiding eldership; 
joint superintendence for several years of the religious 
services at Mount Tabor; a member of the first board 
of trustees of the Centenary Collegiate Institute; a man- 
ager and officer for years of the Newark Conference 
Historical Society, and now a manager of the Methodist 
Historical Society in New York city; one of the board 
of managers during the last twenty years of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Tract Society, and the last half of this 
time or longer a member cf the executive committee; 
the chairman of a committtee of thirteen to try an 
accused member of the Newark Conference, the trial 
resulting in his expulsion ; frequent service on the ex- 
amining, standing, and special committees of the Con- 
ference, as also on the board of stewards ; and a trustee 
for many years till recently of the Centenary Fund and 
Preachers' Aid Society, serving much of this time as 
president of the board, my successor being the present 
efficient incumbent, the Rev. Daniel Halleron, with the 
same faithful secretary, the Rev. Samuel K. Doolittle, 
and the new corresponding secretary, the Rev. John A. 
Gutteridge, so successful in his work, with the careful, 
painstaking, whole souled, enthusiastic treasurer, William 
H. Murphy, Esq. Association with these and the other 
distinguished laymen of the board, Messrs. Samuel T. 



Supernumerary Experiences. 265 

Smith, Edward L Dobbins, John M. Gwinnell, and 
Charles C. Cockefair, together with its other well-known 
clerical members, was found to be delightfully pleasant. 
Finally, there has often come to me at various times, the 
honor of presiding temporarily over the Annual Con- 
ference sessions by appointment of the bishop. 

Some one may be ready to say, " All this is not much." 
No, not much compared with the honors enjoyed by some 
of my brethren, and not much as looked at by the eyes of 
a towering ambition such as never belonged to me; but 
quite enough to satisfy that grateful, appreciative spirit 
which by divine grace can transmute stones to iron, wood 
to brass, brass to silver, and silver to gold (Isa. lx, 17). 

In 1893 along-desired consummation was reached in 
the sale of a strip of land at South Nyack, N. Y. For 
more than twenty-five years it had been a drain through 
heavy taxes upon my slender purse. All through those 
years I had been waiting for the right purchaser, who 
at length came in the person of the Rev. Ross Taylor, 
son of Bishop William Taylor, attended by his excellent 
wife. Into what better hands could it have fallen ? 
Alas, that three of their lovely children should have 
been swept away so suddenly into eternity by the mid- 
night flames which dismantled their new substantial 
home ! But their faith in God faltered not. And now 
day by day from that restored new home, so "beautiful 
for situation," they are permitted, with the twofold 
vision of natural and spiritual eyes, to look forth c< and 
view the landscape o'er." Is it a mere fancy that the 
venerable apostolic bishop may some day here rest 
awhile until another chariot of fire, like to Elijah's, 
shall sweep down and bear him up to the sapphire 
throne (Ezek. i, 26; x, 1) ? That would be to ascend 
from one delectable mountain slope of earth and " scale 
the mount of God " in the heaven of heavens ! 



266 Sunset Memories. 

Among our pleasures have been our summer visits to 
Ocean Grove, that marvelous, matchless Christian Mecca 
of "far extended fame." It has many rivals, but no 
equals. If Chautauqua is greater in some respects, as 
it doubtless is, Ocean Grove bears the palm in many- 
others ; as its comparative proximity to the two great 
cities of New York and Philadelphia; its sea bathing 
advantages; its anniversary services in the interest of a 
greater number and vaiiety of societies, educational and 
religious; its various meetings under different leaders 
for the special promotion of holiness; its unequaled 
new auditorium; and, greatest of all, its annual camp 
meeting, with its vast congregations, its inspiring music, 
directed by Professor John R. Sweney, its eloquent and 
stirring sermons, its unique surf meetings, its earnest 
and successful revival work — all this and much more, 
not to speak of the strict enforcement of its rules against 
Sabbath desecration and the liquor traffic in all its forms, 
etc. That thousands of names have gone up for record 
in the " book of life " is its crowning glory. 

The most eloquent and most thrilling sermon ever 
heard from its platform by the writer was that delivered 
several years since by Rev. Dr. B. B. Hamlin, of the 
Central Pennsylvania Conference, on the "opening of 
the book," so glowingly pictured in the fifth chapter of 
Revelation; while the most entertaining and entrancing 
lecture was that given by General John B. Gordon in 
August, 1895, on "The Last Days of the Southern Con- 
federacy." The enthusiasm of the nearly ten thousand 
who packed the vast new auditorium was surpassing, 
unbounded. 

Last year a new enterprise was started on its promis- 
ing career, winning its way at once to public favor. 
" The Summer School of Theology," under the dean- 
ship of the Rev. Dr. Jacob E. Price, is plainly destined 



Supernumerary Experiences. 267 

to become one of the fixed and most useful institutions 
of Ocean Grove. 

From its beginning, twenty-six years ago, till now the 
Rev. Elwood H. Stokes, D.D., has stood at the head of 
the Ocean Grove Association as its honored president. 
He has grown venerable in age and in service, having 
entered his ninth decade of life; yet his black hair, 
smooth face, erect form, elastic step, and full, strong 
voice would indicate an as;e twenty years less. Have 
his praises sometimes been sounded extravagantly by the 
Ocean Grove Record and other admiring friends ? So it 
may have seemed to many. But all blandishments aside, 
no sober, impartial estimate of his character, abilities, 
and achievements can deny to him a place among the 
most remarkable men of the country and the age. His 
great versatility of talent, joined with an unswerving de- 
votion to God and the right, has Avrought wonders for 
the Church and humanity. He began his ministry in 
1844, as we know, in a spirit of true Christian simplicity 
and sincerity, and that early spirit has suffered no infla- 
tion by all his later promotions and honors — a case too 
rare not to deserve special mention. 

Veterans' Day, October 20, 1895, was delightfully 
passed by the Rev. A. M. Palmer and myself at the 
Second (Trinity) Church, Railway, N. J., with the pas- 
tor, the Rev. Thomas C. Mayham, and his generous peo- 
ple, each of us preaching a sermon. Our entertainment at 
the parsonage was most cordial and enjoyable. 

The last few years have called us to Baltimore, Md., 
for visits among our children; and while the centers of 
interest have been their delightful homes, the city itself 
has afforded unusual attractions and enjoyments. If 
any other city on the continent can treat its visitors to 
better churches, better preachers and preaching, better 
schools and institutions of learning, better music on 



268 Sunset Memories. 

Sunday and on week day, more or better free lectures, 
better homes or warmer hospitality, we have yet to make 
the acquaintance of that city. 

Our latest visit gave me opportunity, early in Decem- 
ber, 1895, to witness the impressive obsequies of Bishop 
Wayman, of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 
All the living bishops of that Church were present and 
took part in the services, Dr. John Lanahan also making 
one of the addresses. Within and without the large 
building many thousands were in attendance. During 
this visit the National City Evangelization Union held 
its annual convention in Baltimore, to which were drawn, 
from both neighboring and remote localities, notable min- 
isters and laymen, among the latter our own William H. 
Beach, Esq., who acted as secretary of the convention 
and made stirring addresses. Many of the meetings were 
of thrilling interest. 

Among the names of ministers pleasantly remembered 
in connection with our visits at Baltimore are those of 
Drs. Goucher, Van Meter, Huntley, Frost, Stitt, Clark, 
McCauley, Richardson, Townsend, Wagner, Wightman, 
Davis, with the Revs. B. F. Clarkson, W. I. McKenney, 
J. F. Heisse, W. M. Ferguson, G. W. Cooper, E. H. 
Smith, W. M. Hammack, J. P. Wright, W. A. Koontz, 
C. E. Guthrie, W. Sheers, J. P. Dean, of Reisterstown, 
J. F. Ockerman, W. G. Herbert, etc. 

A visit to the New Jersey Conference, held at Bridge- 
ton March 11, 1896, afforded unusual enjoyment. 
Forty-one years had passed since I ceased to be pastor 
of the Commerce Street Church in that city. Were any 
still left for mutual remembrance and recognition ? Yes, 
a surprising number, with whom the past was joyously 
talked over. One said, " I distinctly remember two of 
your sermons," repeating the text of each. Another said, 
" I was awakened under one of your sermons," naming 



Supernumerary Experiences. 269 

the text. Another said, " I was converted when you 
were pastor here," and then gave the names of a half 
dozen others who sought and found at the same time. 
Was there no comfort in these and other similar expres- 
sions ? The measure of it was unspeakable, as every 
pastor of long experience can well understand. A few 
calls only could be made, but these were very enjoy- 
able. 

The addresses and sermon by Bishop Joyce were 
masterly. His powerful appeals on Sunday morning 
helped to prepare the way for the revival services led by 
Dr. William A. Spencer on Sunday evening, in which 
twenty-five professed conversion. The home of Mrs. 
Laura C. Cox and her lovely family afforded me delight- 
ful entertainment in company with Brothers Belting 
and Barnhart, members of the Conference. Here, too, 
was the venerable mother and grandmother, Mrs. Whit- 
aker, whose warm hospitality of long ago was so well 
remembered. Though now some years past the eightieth 
anniversary of her birth, her cheerful spirit, retentive 
memory, and excellent gift of conversation still render 
her companionship at once agreeable and helpful. 

Two weeks later came the annual session of the New- 
ark Conference, at St. Paul's Church, city of Newark, 
presided over by Bishop Foss. It was a harmonious 
session, with about the usual disposition to " talk," which 
in general, however, was wisely employed. Had Dr. 
Samuel A. Keen's life and health been spared he would 
probably have been with us to conduct pentecostal serv- 
ices, which would doubtless have proved a great blessing, 
as it would have met a pressing need. An occasion of 
special interest was the reception on Friday morning to 
the Lay Electoral Conference, a noble body of loyal, 
intelligent laymen representing two hundred and thirty 
pastoral charges. The address of welcome by the bishop 
18 



270 Sunset Memories. 

was all that could have been desired, and the response 
to it by the president of the Lay Conference, the Rev. 
John M. Gwinnell, was befitting and happy. The ad- 
dresses and sermon of Bishop Foss, like those of Bishop 
Joyce two weeks before, were " mighty through God." 
How refreshing to see the banner of scriptural holiness 
raised aloft in such quick succession by our chief min- 
isters, and to hear the doctrine of perfect love in this 
life so clearly and forcibly discussed! What a beautiful 
example for imitation by the ministry of the whole 
Church! 

In closing these Sunset Memories I wish to emphasize 
the great goodness of God " all along my pilgrim way." 
That goodness has ever been the supreme thought of my 
being, whereby I have been preserved from murmuring 
or repining in even the sorest trials and deepest sorrows. 
What Addison wrote many years ago as a resolve or 
pledge early became with me a habit : 

" Through every period of my life 
Thy goodness I'll pursue." 

That habit has never failed to give sunshine beneath 
clouds, joy amid grief; nor has it lost aught of its power 
to bring to the heart "good cheer " in old age. I still 
live in a blessed atmosphere of hallelujahs. My super- 
numerary years have been among the happiest, most 
contented, and blest; and now as I gaze upon the cloud- 
less sky of my sunsetting, I see the glad tokens of that 
bright to-morrow in which the ancient promise, " Thy 
sun shall no more go down," will become merged in the 
light of an everlasting fulfillment ; for " there shall be 
no night there." The following stanzas of a jubilee 
hymn written for use December 4, 1890, continue to 
give expression to my abiding " patience of hope in our 
Lord Jesus Christ : " 



Supernumerary Experiences. 271 

" Lo, fifty years for Jesus ! 
The lengthening shadows fall ; 

The toil soon closing 

In calm reposing, 
To wait the Master's call ; 

While peaceful age 

Completes life's crowded page. 
Lo, fifty years for Jesus, 
Telling his wondrous love ! 

" Hail, ripened years in Jesus ! 
The sun of life sinks low ; 

Pisgah ascending, 

And heaven descending, 
The spirit longs to go ! 

Stronger the light, 

The glory beams more bright ! 
Lo, endless years with Jesus, 
Praising his wondrous love ! " 

For the reader and the writer, with all others of the 
common faith, I invoke all the rich benefits compre- 
hended in the tender farewell doxology of Jude, so 
sublime and inspiring: " Now unto him that is able to 
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless be- 
fore the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the 
only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, domin- 
ion and power, both now and ever. Amen." 



THE END. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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